The failure to reopen VIP lounges at airports across the country, which were closed after the Gen-G protests, has sparked a debate over the security of airports and VIPs.
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While returning to Kathmandu after registering his candidacy from Jhapa-5 for the House of Representatives election, CPN-UML Chairman and former Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli has claimed that he was a 'victim of insulting behavior' at both Biratnagar and Kathmandu airports.
The VIP lounges of airports across the country, which were closed after the Gen-G movement, have not opened, and a debate has begun on the security of airports and dignitaries.
At a program organized in Chyasal on Saturday, Oli made a public statement that he had faced humiliating treatment at Biratnagar Airport. In an interview with Kantipur on Sunday, he said that his vehicle was not allowed to enter the airside at Kathmandu Airport. He accused the security personnel of checking the airport as strictly as if it were a gold smuggler, citing 'orders from above'. Oli's complaint: The government caused suffering and humiliation at the airport
Oli criticized the government for closing the VIP lounge reserved for special people. He commented that the situation of having to stand in line at the general entrance was made a ‘joke’. ‘There is a VIP lounge but it is not in use.’ Since there was no place to sit inside, we had to stand in line and go to the toilet,’ Oli said.
According to him, the airport administration was informed in advance that he was coming. ‘I did not seek additional facilities, but it was unnecessary inconvenience,’ he said. Stating that former Prime Ministers Pushpa Kamal Dahal and Sher Bahadur Deuba had also experienced similar experiences before, Oli said that such behavior was unfair.
This was Oli’s first air trip outside Kathmandu after the Gen-G movement of last Bhadra. On Monday, he reached Bhadrapur in a Yeti Airlines ATR aircraft. During that time, he was not able to use the VIP lounge at the domestic terminal of Kathmandu Airport and boarded the plane directly through the apron. He expressed dissatisfaction saying that the facilities available to the former Prime Minister were blocked at both Biratnagar and Kathmandu airports during his return.
Why is Oli feeling a 'security threat'?
Oli stayed at a private restaurant outside the airport as there was no separate waiting room. The airport administration has stated that after all the passengers boarded, he was called and entered the terminal through the walk-through gate used by the general public and boarded the plane. Airport Chief Jha Oli claimed that he did not formally request a VVIP cabin.
According to a senior official of the authority, the decision not to open the VIP lounge was said to have come from the level of the Prime Minister and the Tourism Minister, but there is no written instruction. Acting Director General Karna said that the VVIP lounge could not be brought into operation due to ‘no formal clearance from above’.
After allegations were made that VIPs were fleeing using the airport during the Gen-G movement, the then Director General Pradeep Adhikari had decided to ban the use of all VIP lounges across the country, a system that remains in place till date.
