Private carriers on Thursday threatened to halt operations starting Friday after the civil aviation regulator ordered operators to shift at least half of the scheduled flights for night operation.

The Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal’s order came just as the plan was taking off to open seven airports in Tarai for 18 hours or until 12 midnight.

“This decision was taken by the regulator unilaterally. We cannot shift half of the scheduled flights for night operations all of a sudden because we need time until the basic facilities are set up,” said an airline representative who spoke on condition of anonymity.

Issuing a statement on Thursday, the Airlines Operators Association of Nepal said its attention has been drawn to the letter issued by the civil aviation body on Wednesday asking the domestic airlines to reschedule their flights for night operation.

“We are not in a position to operate a maximum number of flights during the night due to various technical reasons,” said the airline officials.

In its statement, the Civil Aviation Authority says it urges the domestic airlines to make arrangements as per the new time slot.

“We are unable to align our flight schedule with the slot as ordered by the regulator because we had demanded time to prepare ourselves,” said the airliners.

To follow the order, Buddha Air has to shift 73 flights to night, Yeti Airlines 24, Shree Airlines 20 and Guna Airlines 14 and Saurya Airlines 7.

“Keeping airports open until midnight is a welcome step,” Birendra Bahadur Basnet, managing director of Buddha Air, the country’s largest private airline, told the Post in a recent interview. “We have been operating at night for the last few years, and the response from travellers has been good so far.”

Basnet says airlines can divert at least 30 percent of their day traffic to night slots and reduce congestion at airports.

“But there should be proper amenities like public transport, shops, restaurants and hotels to serve travellers when they land at the destination airport,” he said.

Airports in Chandragadhi, Biratnagar, Janakpur, Simara, Bhairahawa, Nepalgunj and Dhangadhi will operate three shifts.

Seven of the nine airports in the country’s plains are now capable of handling night flights after being equipped with area navigation technology. In the past, lack of technology forced domestic airlines to call it a day after 5pm.

The Post’s attempts to contact officials of the Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal were unsuccessful.