The Nepal Airlines Airbus 320 on Tuesday remained grounded owing to a technical glitch at a time when Tribhuvan International Airport (TIA) is facing an unprecedented backlog of passengers and a surge in air traffic.

The new aircraft which arrived a month ago in the Capital failed to carry out its regular flight due to technical problem, Nepal Airlines Corporation (NAC) Spokesperson Ramhari Sharma said.

According to Sharma, equipment needed for the aircraft's maintenance would arrive tonight from Singapore via Hong Kong. He said the maintenance work would be carried out on Wednesday.

The NAC Airbus 320-220 arrived on February 8. The NAC has made arrangement to accommodate its stranded passengers at a hotel in the Capital city.

The aircraft was scheduled to fly to Bangkok on Monday.

The country's only international hub, TIA is facing a backlog of passengers and an increasing traffic of inbound and outbound international flights currently.

The TIA resumed operations on Saturday evening, March 7 after a complete halt of internationfour days due to Turkish Airline's Flight TK 726 runway excursion and crash-landing in the grassland between the runway and the taxiway.

Meanwhile, NAC's Y12 'Koeli' aircraft which had also been grounded due to punctured tyre now has continued with its regular flight.