Kathmandu, February 5:

China Southern Airlines (CSA), China’s largest airlines in terms of fleet size, began its operations on Guangzhou-Kathmandu-Guangzhou route with its maiden flight today.

CSA’s Boeing 757 landed at Tribhuvan International Airport (TIA) today with 180 passengers including 150 Chinese tourists on board. According to Gorkha Travels & Tours, the sole agent of the airlines in Nepal, CSA will fly on Guangzhou-Kathmandu route twice-a-week on Mondays and Fridays.

Based in China’s major trading and industrial hub, Guangzhou, the capital of Guangdong province, CSA flies to 110 destinations across the globe.

The airline’s operation is expected to contribute in Chinese tourists arrivals as well as further strengthening of business ties between Nepal and China.

CSA became the fourth airline to begin its operations to Nepal in a row in less than four months.

Air Arabia from the United Arab Emirates (UAE) has been flying on Sharjah-Kathmandu route since November 7, while GMG Airlines from Bangladesh has been operating on Dhaka-Kathmandu route since October 23.

Likewise, Korean Air began its operations on Seoul-Kathmandu route from November 13.

There are around fourteen international airlines currently operating to and from Nepal while the country’s national flag carrier Nepal Airlines Corporation (NAC) flies to Osaka, Shanghai, Hong Kong, Bangkok, Kuala Lumpur, Dubai, Mumbai and New Delhi.