Although the government spends billions of rupees for the development of domestic airports, the return is not satisfactory. Only 13 airports in the country are in profit one of them being Tribhuvan International Airport in Kathmandu.
The airports running in profit in the previous fiscal year include Chandragadhi, Biratnagar, Simara, Pokhara, Gautam Buddha, Nepalgunj, Dhangadhi, Lukla, Janakpur, Bharatpur, Jomsom and Simikot.
The airports have not given returns as per the investments made. They are only meeting the annual general expenditure of the CAAN.
CAAN Director General, Rajan Pokharel said the airports hardly meet the annual general expenses. The profit is not included in the development expenditure. CAAN's total earning last fiscal year was Rs 8 billion, including Rs 2 billion in airport charge. This amount cannot be considered as profit as compared to the annual budget.
More than Rs 45 billion budget had been allocated to CAAN in last fiscal year. The government has apportioned Rs 46.965 billion for the next fiscal year 2019/20.