Air Ticket 'Shortage': Around 20,000 Nepali migrant workers stranded
Roshan Sedhai
Around 20,000 Nepali migrant workers have been stranded in the country due to a shortage of air tickets and an exorbitant hike in ticket prices on the Gulf route.
Staffers of foreign employment agencies and migrant workers going to countries like Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Kuwait, United Arab Emirates and Bahrain have not been able to book tickets even for double the ticket price.
According to the Department of Foreign Employment (DoFE), an average of 900 people who receive final approval from the government to work abroad every day are having to face the problem.
“Around 25 big manpower companies had submitted written applications to let their workers travel via a third country, but we refused to take the applications. We have learnt that air ticket scarcity is now a common problem of all the companies,” said DoFE spokesperson Divas Acharya.
As the workers have to join duty within two months of visa stamping, many are likely to face problems of visa expiry and job denial from companies.
Airlines officials say the problem, which surfaced a month ago, is likely to continue for another month.
“At least 20,000 workers are awaiting flights with passports and visa in their hands. The number is increasing every day,” said Bal Bahadur Tamang, chairman of the Nepal Association of Foreign Employment Agencies (NAFEA). Over 500 workers are supposed to fly from Tamang’s company, Sky Overseas.
The company said it recently booked Kathmandu-Riyadh one-way air seats for next month by paying Rs 32,000, while the normal price of the ticket is Rs 22,000.According to NAFEA officials, almost all carriers serving in Gulf countries—Oman Air, Qatar Airways, Etihad Airways, Air Arabia, Fly Dubai and Jet Airways—have doubled the ticket prices or stopped bookings.
Recruiting agencies, who were paying Rs 22,000 as one-way airfare to Gulf destinations on an average a month ago, are now compelled to pay up to Rs 49,000.
Government officials admitted that people are compelled to pay up to Rs 50,000 to reach countries where they could have reached for Rs 20,000 via the New Delhi route.
Travel agents claim that there has been a shortage of around 19 flights a week to major labour destinations after carriers like Gulf Air and Bahrain Air suspended Nepal flights.
However, senior government officials have suspected an “artificial shortage meant to hike airfares.” Sensing possible irregularities, officials from the Labour Ministry, the DoFE, Civil Aviation Authority Nepal (CAAN), NAFEA and travel agencies have been holding discussions. CAAN officials said foreign airlines or their local general sales agents (GSA) have created an artificial shortage of seats and hiked the airfare.
The air authority said it has started investigations following complaints from the DoFE. The Bilateral Air Service Agreement has it that airlines have to furnish the basis of the price hike when asked by the regulator under the ‘tariff Article.’ The airlines in question have, however, refuted the allegation and said the fare is determined by the demand and supply situation.
NAFEA said it will start using its own letter pad and stamps to allow manpower companies to send the workers through India and Bangladesh if the government fails to resolve the crisis soon. The Foreign Employment Act allows manpower agencies to send workers via other countries if the state fails to assure availability of air tickets.
Published on: 23 May 2013 | The Kathmandu Post
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