KATHMANDU, JUNE 22 flydubai will begin direct flights between Pokhara and Dubai from September 23, in what will be only the second regular international commercial service to operate from Pokhara International Airport since it opened in January 2023. The Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal granted flydubai permission for the route on June 8, following a high-level safety, security and operational inspection of the airport by a flydubai team. Ticket booking for the Pokhara-Dubai-Pokhara service is already open, according to Pokhara International Airport General Manager Jagannath Niraula. The flight will operate under a code-share arrangement between flydubai and Emirates Airlines, allowing passengers to travel on a single ticket from Pokhara to destinations across Europe, Australia and the Americas via Dubai. Niraula said passengers would not need to handle their own luggage during transit. 'From Dubai, a connecting Emirates flight will take passengers to their final destination,' he said, adding that the arrangement would shorten travel time and reduce costs for passengers currently routing through Kathmandu. Pokhara Mayor Dhanraj Acharya said the connection to Dubai, one of the world's busiest aviation hubs, would effectively link Pokhara to more than 300 cities across the Middle East, Europe, Africa and beyond. Emirates operates out of Terminal 3 at Dubai International Airport, connecting to more than 143 destinations across 76 countries in six continents. The Pokhara-Dubai route will be only the second commercial international service from the airport. Himalaya Airlines launched a Pokhara-Lhasa route in March 2025, but that service has since been suspended due to low passenger numbers. Charter flights to destinations in China, India and Bhutan have operated intermittently from the airport. Niraula said Air Arabia has also expressed interest in launching flights from Pokhara, though he noted that sustained international operations would require broad support from the private sector and all stakeholders. Naresh Kandel, President of the Federation of Nepalese Chambers of Commerce and Industry, Gandaki, said the direct Dubai link would open an economic door for the entire Gandaki Province, where large numbers of people travel to the Middle East, Europe and America for work and study. 'The flight will make it cheaper and easier for them to return home, and tourists will now be able to fly directly into Pokhara rather than routing through Kathmandu,' Kandel said. Pokhara International Airport, Nepal's third international gateway, was built at a cost of approximately Rs 22 billion and has been limited to domestic operations since its inauguration. The airport's inability to attract regular international services despite being open for over three years has drawn persistent criticism, and the government included diplomatic outreach to international airlines in its policy programme for the coming fiscal year. (With inputs from RSS)