Gandaki, Aug 1. A private airlines company, Buddha Air, has started direct flight from Pokhara to Nepaljung, cutting short the long hours of road transport between these two cities to half an hour by air.

Earlier, it would take around 14 hours to reach Nepalgunj from Pokhara and vice versa by road.

According to Pokhara station manager Gautam Baral, to begin with, there will be three flights between these cities on Sunday, Wednesday and Friday.

Plan to commence the direct flight since May 1 was stalled due to the prohibitory order imposed to contain the second wave of COVID-19, said station manager Baral.

The flights will begin at 9:10 am from Pokhara and the one-way fare ranges from Rs 4,935 to Rs 7,635. Likewise, flight from Nepalgunj is scheduled at 10:00 am.

The Buddha Air’s 18-seaters Aircrafts of Beechcraft 1900D model will operate these flights. The direct flights between these two cities are expected to boost the tourism in both cities.

Tourists, enjoying the scenic beauty of the Lake City, Pokhara, can relish the natural destinations in Nepalgunj as well. Banke where Nepalgunj lies is a home to several tourist destinations such as Banke National Park, and Chisapani on the bank of Karnali River, among others.

Similarly, tourists can fly to other remote destinations in the hilly areas such as Rara Lake from Nepalgunj, said chairperson of Nepal Tours and Travels Agents’ Gandaki Province chapter Sanjay Kant Sigdel.

Due to direct flight from Nepalgunj to Pokhara and vice versa, Pokhara is expected to receive encouraging number of Indian tourists as well as other foreigner tourists from cities in India such as Lucknow, Kanpur and Delhi among others. (Basudev Poudel) RSS /File Photo

KATHMANDU, June 30: Buddha Air has begun direct flights from Kathmandu to the Indian city of Varanasi in Uttar Pradesh.

Minister for Culture, Tourism and Civil Aviation Rabindra Adhikari and Managing Director of Buddha Air Birendra Bahadur Basnet saw off the passengers of the first flight that began on Friday.

Buddha Air will be providing the service twice a week on Monday and Friday.

Direct air service to link the two cities from the religious and touristic purpose will help Nepal’s preparation for observing 2020 as Visit Nepal Year, Minister Adhikari said on the occasion.

In Varanasi, the passengers were welcomed by the Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh Yogi Adityanath.

Along with the air service, Buddha Air has also introduced a tourist package for both Indian tourists coming to Kathmandu and for Nepali tourists visiting Varanasi.

The introductory two-way fare for the 50-minute flight to Varanasi from Kathmandu has been fixed at Rs. 14,000.

POKHARA, Sept 15: Buddha Air has started its direct flights to Bharatpur and Bhairahawa from Pokhara from Friday.

The private airline company’s first flight to Bharatpur took off at 10 this morning from Pokhara while another aircraft flew to Bhairahawa at 11:22 am, according to Buddha Air’s Station Manager, Gautam Baral.

The aircraft would take around 15 minutes to reach Bharatpur while it takes around 17 minutes for Bhairahawa, shared Station Manager Baral.

The one-way ticket for Bharatpur from Pokhara is priced at Rs 3,600 while it would cost USD 92 for foreigners.
Similarly, it would cost Rs 4,200 for Nepalis for one-way ticket to Bhairahawa from Pokhara. Foreigners have to pay USD 97 for the same, added Baral.

From today, there will be regular flights from Pokhara to these destinations, according to the Buddha Air. RSS