Himalaya Airlines (H9, Kathmandu) has begun to repay outstanding service and ground handling fees to Nepal's main airport, Aviation Nepal has reported, starting with a sum of NPR10 million (USD89,700) and a written commitment to pay NPR7.5 million (USD67,000) per month.
According to officials at Kathmandu's Tribhuvan International Airport, the airline owed up to NPR250 million (USD2.23 million) in charges and accrued interest as of April 2019, as the fees had been unpaid since July 2018.
Kumar Chhetri, general manager of the Tribhuvan International Airport Civil Aviation Office (TIACAO), related that on January 12 the carrier had paid NPR5 million (USD44,700) while asking for more time to clear all dues. It then paid NPR10 million on February 20 after receiving a threat of legal action by the airport.
In February, TIACAO also warned it may have to ground the airline, a joint-venture between Nepali and Chinese interests, if it failed to settle up, Nepal's Republica newspaper reported at the time.
Meanwhile, in an effort to improve its cash flow, Himalaya Airlines now plans to wet-lease one of its A320-200s to Vietnam's Bamboo Airways (QH, Hanoi Noi Bai International) in May, following the cancellation of a similar deal with SalamAir (OV, Muscat), according to Aviation Nepal.
Based on the ch-aviation capacity module, Himalaya operates three A320-200s on an exclusively international network connecting Kathmandu with Doha Hamad International, Dammam, and Abu Dhabi International.
Bamboo Airways' fleet consists of one A319-100, five A320-200s (including four other wet-leased units) and two A321-200neo.
