NAC resumes Kathmandu-Dubai direct flight

Kathmandu / Aug 19: The Nepal Airlines Corporation (NAC) has resumed Kathmandu-Dubai direct flight after a gap of around four years. Earlier the service was halted due to a lack of aircraft.

The service formally resumed on Thursday when an aircraft belonging to the national flag-carrier with 158 passengers onboard took off for Dubai at 11:20 pm, the NAC Corporate Director and Spokesperson Ram Hari Sharma said. The plane landed at the Tribhuvan International Airport at 10:25 today morning on its return journey from Dubai, he said.

The aircraft (A-320) with a capacity of accommodating 158 passengers, was flown by a crew team led by Captain Rabindra Purush Dhakal to Dubai from Kathmandu, while upon the return, an eight-member crew led by Captain Bijaya Lama operated the flight.

Direct flights with potentiality for attracting passengers have received an encouraging response from passengers.

All seats were occupied on the day when the service resumed, and for Sunday, a day with the scheduled flight, all seats have already been booked, Sharma said.

He said that the NAC has been encouraged by the overwhelming response of passengers and thanked passengers and all sectors for helping the NAC become able to resume its service.

According to the flight schedule of the NAC, three flights will operate a week from Kathmandu to Dubai (Sunday, Tuesday and Thursday). And Monday, Wednesday and Friday are scheduled days for a flight to operate from Dubai to Kathmandu.

It takes four hours and 40 minutes for a flight to reach Dubai from Kathmandu while 4 hours and 15 minutes from Dubai to Kathmandu. The airfare is Rs 32,000 for round-trip ticket.

The NAC is operating flights to New Delhi, Mumbai and Bangalore of India, Doha of Qatar and Hong Kong through two airbuses and a Boeing airplane. RSS