Himal Press 
Recruitment agents submitting memorandum to three ministers.
KATHMANDU: Foreign recruitment companies have urged the government to allow them to send migrant workers via New Delhi, India, citing high ticket prices from Kathmandu.
Airfares from Kathmandu have gone up significantly as airlines were forced to cut their flights following the decision of the Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal (CAAN) to shut the airport for 10 hours during nighttime for expansion works.
The rise in ticket prices to various countries where Nepali workers are employed has placed a significant financial burden on them, according to Meghnath Bhurtel, General Secretary of Nepal Association of Foreign Employment Agencies.
The association has requested the government to allow Nepali workers to leave for their job destinations via New Delhi.
A delegation of the association submitted a memorandum to Minister for Labour, Employment and Social Security, Sharat Singh Bhandari; Minister of Culture, Tourism and Civil Aviation Badri Pandey; and Minister of Foreign Affairs Arzu Rana Deuba, urging the government to allow Nepali workers to depart to foreign job destinations via New Delhi.
“The reduction in airport operation hours has given airlines an excuse to raise fares. If this issue is not resolved immediately, recruitment agencies will be compelled to stop sending workers abroad. We have brought this matter to the attention of the concerned ministers,” Bhurtel told Himal Press.
According to recruitment agencies, airfare to destinations in the UAE has increased to as high as Rs 65,000 from Rs 30,000-35,000 on normal times. Flight fares to destinations in Saudi Arabia, Malaysia, Oman, Bahrain and Kuwait have also doubled, they added.
Since airfares to these destinations from India, Bangladesh, Pakistan and Sri Lanka are lower, recruitment companies would be compelled to use these destinations to send Nepali workers to their job destinations, according to a recruitment agent. “We are mulling over sending workers to New Delhi via surface route and use flight from there,” he added.
Danduraj Ghimire, spokesperson for the Ministry of Labour, Employment and Social Security, said alternatives would be considered until the airport expansion work at TIA is complete.
