There has been movement in the dispute over the large number of helicopter flights in the region around Mount Everest. Following a crisis meeting between the conflicting parties at the headquarters of the Solukhumbu district administration at the end of last week, the Airlines Operators Association of Nepal (AOAN) announced that it would resume helicopter rescue flights in the Khumbu region.
At the beginning of January, the AOAN had suspended all helicopter flights to the Everest region. The association was responding to protests by local organizations that had erected poles with prayer flags at helicopter landing sites in the Khumbu. The locals wanted to support the move by the Khumbu Pasanglhamu Rural Municipality. The regional administration had banned commercial helicopter flights in the Sagarmatha National Park from 1 January and only allowed rescue flights by appointment.
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