Nepal's domestic airlines agreed on October 8, 2026, to sell tickets below approved fare rates after complaints about high airfares ahead of Dashain.
The Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal (CAAN) convened the meeting in Kathmandu and confirmed the agreement in an official notice. Airlines also agreed to publish the applicable fares on their sales paltofrms. The government said the move was meant to address festival-season fare complaints.
Prime Minister Balendra Shah raised concerned about the fares, and Culture, Tourism and Civil Aviation Minister Khadak Raj Paudel intiated discussions with the aviation authority. CAAN Director General Mukesh Dangol said airlines would issue notices about the revisefd ticket prices.
The agreement does not specify a uniform discount percentage or a fixed rupee reduction.
An approved fare is a ceiling set under the regulatory framework, and the price a passenger actually pays can vary by route, flight, fare category and seat availability. A ministerial decision on December 13, 2015, set minimum and maximum fares for domestic air services. The new agreement is presented as an effort to put that framework into effect during the festival season.
Separately on October 8, Yeti Airlines said it had suspended upper-class fares on flights departing Kathmandu during Dashain and was offering its lowest available fares on return flights to Kathmandu. The airline cited high outbound demand, the likelihood of less-busy return flights and rising fuel costs. It said aviation fuel prices had risen from Rs 127 to Rs 249 per litre.
Dashain is a major annual festival, and travel surges as people return to their family homes. Domestic flights connect Kathmandu with destinations across the country, including places where road journeys can be long or difficult.
