Tuesday, Jun 11, 2024 00:45 [IST]
Last Update: Monday, Jun 10, 2024 19:08 [IST]
PAKYONG, : Nepal’s private airline Buddha Air is
set to start flights from Kathmandu to Pakyong soon. A team from Buddha Air
including operational head Jeevan Basnet, administrative head Uday Krishna
Shrestha and network head Om Pradhananga visited Pakyong Airport today for a
feasibility study.
The team was given a presentation by
Pakyong Air Traffic Control followed by a tour of Pakyong Airport with airport
director Sanjeev Kumar Singh. According to Singh, Buddha Air is seeking
permission from the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) to operate at
Pakyong Airport. The team has completed 80% of the required paperwork and will
finalize the remaining 20% after returning to Nepal.
Buddha Air plans to operate two daily
flights: one from Kathmandu to Pakyong and another from Kathmandu to Pakyong
via Guwahati. The flight from Kathmandu to Pakyong will take about one hour,
while the flight from Pakyong to Guwahati will take around 35 minutes. The
proposed fare for Kathmandu to Pakyong is expected to be between Rs. 6,000 and
Rs. 7,000, but Singh has requested Buddha Air to reduce it to Rs. 5,000-6,000.
The airline is confident there will be
enough passengers on these routes. Buddha Air is already operating flights from
Kathmandu to Varanasi and is seeking permission for a new route from Janakpur
to Ayodhya. The tentative timing for the new flights is between 12 noon and
1:30 pm. The flights will use ATR 500 aircraft which can accommodate 85-90
passengers.
Buddha Air hopes to receive permission
from the DGCA within a month or so.
