Kathmandu, July 21

Himalaya Airlines will start direct flights to Dhaka, the capital city of Bangladesh, from Monday. With a target to facilitate Bangladeshi tourists travelling to Nepal, the airline company will start daily scheduled flights to Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport, Dhaka from Tribhuvan International Airport (TIA). The company will conduct three flights a week on Mondays, Wednesdays and Saturdays.

As per Himalaya Airlines, first flight to Dhaka will take off from TIA at 11:10am local time and will land at Dhaka at 1:10pm local time. Similarly, the aircraft will fly back to Kathmandu from Dhaka at 2:10pm local time and land at TIA at 3:20pm local time.

The airline will be operating its A320-214 series of Airbus aircraft with a capacity of 150 economy class seats and eight premium economy class seats. The airline will offer 20 kg of free checked-in baggage allowance in economy class while 25 kg will be allowed for premium economy.

The airline is currently operating regular flights to Qatar, UAE and Saudi Arabia.

The major targeted passengers of the airline company will be Bangladeshi tourists, as stated by the airlines.

However, the number of tourists travelling to Nepal from Bangladesh has been declining in recent years.

According to Nepal Tourism Board (NTB), a total of 10,590 Bangladeshi tourists have visited Nepal in the first six months of 2019. Likewise, a total of 13,955 Bangladeshi tourists had visited Nepal during the same period of 2018. Meanwhile, 26,255 Bangladeshi tourists visited Nepal in 2018 while the number of Bangladeshi tourists visiting Nepal in 2017 stood at 29,060, as per NTB.

Besides Bangladeshi tourists travelling to Nepal there are a number of Nepali students who go to Bangladesh for their studies. As the flow of students in this route is very high, this flight is also expected to facilitate Nepali students travelling to Bangladesh for their studies.

The airline has appointed Sair Air BD Ltd as its general sales agent. Established in August 2014, Himalaya Airlines, a Nepal-China joint venture, is a private airline in the country providing international air services after the national flag carrier.