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Aviation History
1961
1961 - 0268.PDF
272 THE visit this week of the Queea aad the Duke of Edinburgh to Nepalfocussed attention on a mountain kingdom which has been opened-up by air transport only in the past ten years. This article examines theplace of the Dakota in Nepal's transport system—although external pressures are forcing the purchase of more up-to-date aircraft. JohnSeekings wrote the story, his wife June took the pictures. IN a world which has come to regard intercontinental jet travelwith bored indifference it is rather nice to be able to say, "Iremember that in Katmandu they were known as the Him- maal-yais." That Nepal still lies well off the beaten track is hardlysurprising, for until recently the country was openly hostile to all but mountaineers and yeti-seekers. The first official touristbrochure was compiled and issued only a few months ago. And until last year there was only one modest "Western" hotel in thewhole country; now there are two in Katmandu, soon to be joined by a third, though as yet the only tourist accommodation outsidethe capital is to be found under canvas. To find the reason for this reticence in cashing-in on what mustbe the world's most remarkable landscape, coupled as it is with one of the world's best year-round climates, one must look backat Nepal's past. In brief, the country has since the mid-eighteenth century been united under the royal rule of the Shah dynasty.However, for just over one hundred years, from 1847 to 1950, the reins of power were firmly held by the Rams. This aristocraticfamily, whose members filled all the important positions of State, were fully aware of the corruptive influence of foreign ideas, andtherefore insulated their subjects by the simple expedient of banning travel. Only with the democratization of the country in1950-51 did it become conceivable to operate air services to the outside world. This explains why Nepal's first airport wasbuilt as recently as ten years ago. As soon as Katmandu's airfield was ready for use one of IndianAirlines' predecessors, Indian National Airways, opened a twice- FLIGHT, 3 March 196 weekly Calcutta - Patna - Katmandu service with DC-3s. In tlsummer of 1951 this frequency was increased to six per week, ..• which level it has continued to the present day, first by INA atrmore recently by IAC. But it was not until the present Monarch King Mahendra, came to the throne in 1956 that an effort wtmade to form a national airline. A contemporary travel book o Nepal hints at the main reason for this move: "the noise of ti-splendid coronation was scarcely over when the King hammere; out a daring project; he would visit his country." The significant"of this is that surface travel in Nepal is near impossible, even fc- a popular monarch; it invariably involves a journey down tl •valley to the nearest Indian railhead, then a train, and finally s long trek up valley to one's destination. Typical of this is thejourney from Katmandu to the nearby provincial capital, Pokhara; by surface this takes eight to ten days, by air a mere 45 minute:,. In anticipation of the King's first tour of his country, a numberof airfields were prepared, and these were to provide the basis of a network of internal services. Initially operated by Indian AirlinesCorporation under contract, they covered three routes radiating from Katmandu: eastward to Biratnagar, southward to Simra,and westward to Pokhara and Bhairawa. Meanwhile, men and machines were being assembled locally, and the Royal NepalAirline Corporation was formally constituted with mixed govern- ment and private backing. Operations began in July 1958, withRNAC taking over IAC's internal services, leaving the Indian national carrier to continue the six-times-weekly Patna-Kat-mandu service. This pattern of services persisted until the spring of 1960, when RNAC, by then wholly State-owned, embarked ona three-point expansion programme. In the first place, each of the existing domestic services was YAKto DAK Nepal's Airline and its Unique Operations improved: on the short route to Simra, frequency was increasedfrom six to seven; the Pokhara/Bhairawa service was improved by the inclusion of Gurkha (which town, because of its militarytraditions, has given its name to Nepali soldiery generally); while the Biratnagar connections were strengthened by the additionof optional traffic stops en route at Janakpur or Rajbiraj, and an optional extension to Calcutta. Secondly, a new once-weeklyservice was inaugurated to the extreme western corner of Nepal, following the route Katmandu, Bharatpur, Bhairawah, Dang,Nepalganj and Dhangarhi. Unfortunately, because of the condi- tion of the runways at these points, this service cannot be operatedon a year-round basis. Finally RNAC opened its own external services from Kat-mandu to Patna (three per week), to Calcutta and to Delhi (each two per week). 1AC continued to operate their old six-timesweekly Patna - Katmandu service and also joined RNAC on Katmandu - Delhi and Katmandu - Calcutta, their frequency ineach case being three per week. This brought IAC to the upper limit of twelveflights weekly, to which the designated Indian carrier is restricted in the Indo-Nepal bilateral agreement. That RNAC's frequencies lag behind those of IAC ishardly surprising, for not only is the Indian Airline longer-established but italso enjoys better interline facilities. Although RNAC's services are alloperated by three DC-3s, until a few weeks ago the fleet numbered four aircraft.Unfortunately, towards the close of 1960 the airline suffered its first fatal accidentwhen an aircraft crashed while taking off on a charter freight flight. Existingschedules represent an annual requirement of 3,300 hours, divided equally betweenexternal and internal services. Charter operations—principally between Pokharaand Bhairawa in connection with Gurkha troop movements—bring the total annual One of RNAC's DC-3s at Katmandu Airpor Two other spellings for the city's narr:, incidentally, are Kathmandu and Khotmanm
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