DHANGADI, SEPTEMBER 20

Air service at Dhangadi airport, which was suspended for nearly six months due to COVID-19 pandemic, is resuming tomorrow.

Private airline Buddha Air will be starting Kathmandu-Dhangadi-Kathmandu flights, according to Chief at Dhangadi Airport Office, Tej Bahadur Budhathapa.

All health safety measures will be adopted during flights in order to prevent the risk of COVID-19, he added.

Another private airline Summit Air also operated chartered Nepalgunj-Bajura-Dhangadi and Dhangadi-Bajura-Nepalgunj flights recently.

Summit Air is likely to resume regular operation in the district very soon.

Airports in Doti, Baitadi and Bajhang districts have already witnessed blacktopping of the runway and are waiting for test flights.

Meanwhile, state-owned Nepal Airlines Corporation shut down its office in Dhangadi. The reason is attributed to lack of aircraft, said NAC Dhangadi Chief Haridutta Panta.

Earlier, until the nationwide lockdown on March 24, NAC’s aircraft MA60 model operated in this region.

The airport in Dhangadi is one among 10 domestic airports in the country fetching handsome income.

“The airport generally earns Rs 2.5 million to 3 million a year. The income has shrunk due to shutdown of the airport in the wake of the COVID-19 outbreak.”

Upgradation work of the airport had recently been completed.

A version of this article appears in e-paper on September 21, 2020, of The Himalayan Times.