The Embassy of Nepal in New Delhi said on Monday, November 11, that Nepali migrant workers with labour approval will not be required to get the No Objection Certificate (NOC) from the embassy to travel to their labour destination using the Indian airports.
“Nepali citizens holding a valid Foreign Employment Permit (FEP) issued by the Department of Foreign Employment/Nepal are exempt from the requirement of obtaining any NOC from this Embassy,” reads the embassy’s notice .
Nepali citizens holding visas for the USA, UK, and Schengen countries will also be exempted from requiring the NOC, according to the embassy.
“Nepali citizens possessing a valid residence card or the visa for the USA, the UK, Canada, Australia, NewZealand, Japan and Schengen countries do not require such NOC for travelling to any country,” the notice says.
Read: High Airfares Affect Nepal’s Tourism Industry
Similarly, holders of Nepali Diplomatic/Official/Service Passports, Nepali nationals bearing the United Nations Laissez-Passer (UNLP), and Nepali minors below 16 years of age are also exempt from requiring an NOC.
The decision comes amid soaring ticket prices and their unavailability in Nepal following the closure of Tribhuvan International Airport (TIA) for 10 hours daily to carry out the upgradation work.
With the reduction in operating hours, international airlines have cut flights to Kathmandu, resulting in the surge in ticket prices, reportedly by up to four times.
Among the most affected groups following the price hike are Nepali migrant workers, who fly in hundreds to various destinations from TIA every day.
Read: Airport Upgrade to Limit Domestic Flights by 35%
Rajendra Bhandari, President of the Nepal Association of Foreign Employment Agencies, an umbrella organisation of the manpower agencies operating in the country, along with other representatives from the association had urged the government authorities last week to initiate diplomatic efforts to allow Nepali migrant workers to travel through airports in India temporarily.
In an attempt to address ticket unavailability and pricing related issues following the closure of TIA, reportedly for five months, the various government agencies and airlines operators decided Saturday, November 9, to not allow budget carriers from practising TBA for their sales.
The TBA is a practice in which airline operators provide travel agencies the tickets in bulk and the right to sell them later, which makes them expensive, an official from CAAN told NBA requesting anonymity.
It has also been decided that all operators will have to declare their sector wise price range and average price, and make them public, according to the statement issued by CAAN. The operators will be responsible for making necessary arrangements with the travel agencies in adopting measures such as restriction in volume as well as agreement on reasonable service charges.
