Kathmandu, February 20

State-owned Nepal Airlines Corporation (NAC) is planning to fly to new destinations to maximise its revenue, as its new aircraft are spending significant amount of time in airport’s parking bay rather than in the skies.

Some of the countries that NAC is planning to fly to are Israel, Sri Lanka, Cambodia and Vietnam.

“We have dispatched technical teams to those countries to hold discussions.

They will also study the market of those countries,” NAC Executive Chairman Madan Kharel said. Previously, NAC had initiated the process of getting air operator certificates from Japan, China and Saudi Arabia.

For now, NAC’s top priority destination is Japan, followed by China and Saudi Arabia, according to Kharel.

“We will then focus on extending flights to Israel,” said Kharel. NAC has sought permission to use Saudi Arabia’s airspace to fly to Israel. “If we get the permission from Saudi, we will immediately start flying to Israel,” Kharel said.

NAC is also planning to fly to countries with significant Buddhist population. This preparation is being made as first phase of construction of Gautam Buddha International Airport is nearing completion. The new international airport is located very near Lumbini, the birthplace of Buddha. “Lots of tourists from Sri Lanka, Vietnam and Cambodian visit Lumbini,” said Kharel.

“That’s why we are eyeing those destinations.”

Currently, NAC is conducting international flights through two wide-body and two narrow-body Airbus aircraft and one Boeing 757 to eight international destinations including New Delhi, Bangalore, Mumbai, Kuala Lumpur, Bangkok, Hong Kong, Doha and Dubai.