Kathmandu: The national flag-carrier, Nepal Airlines Corporation (NAC), has commenced direct flights to Guangzhou, China, marking the launch of a new international route.
According to National News Agency Nepal, NAC inaugurated flights on the Kathmandu-Guangzhou-Kathmandu route from September 27. Although the airline had initially planned to start these flights on September 25, technical issues delayed the launch until Saturday. NAC Spokesperson Manoj Kumar Shah confirmed that the aircraft departed for Guangzhou from Kathmandu on Saturday afternoon and returned with 107 passengers.
NAC has outlined a schedule for three weekly flights to and from Guangzhou. The first flights are set for September 28 and October 16, with subsequent flights planned for October 19 and October 23. After these initial flights, NAC will operate direct flights to Guangzhou every Sunday, Tuesday, and Saturday. The fare for a one-way ticket from Kathmandu to Guangzhou is Rs 30,000, while a round-trip ticket is priced at Rs 50,000.
Currently, China’s airline, China Southern, and Nepal’s Himalaya Airlines also operate regular flights on the Kathmandu-Guangzhou route. The initiation of NAC’s regular flights to Guangzhou, a city with a significant Nepali population, is anticipated to be financially advantageous for the corporation. With the addition of the Guangzhou route, NAC now offers regular flights to 11 destinations across nine countries.
NAC currently conducts international flights to Doha in Qatar, Kuala Lumpur in Malaysia, Dubai in the United Arab Emirates, Hong Kong, and various Indian cities including Delhi, Mumbai, and Bangalore. The airline also flies to Bangkok in Thailand, Dammam in Saudi Arabia, and Narita in Japan, utilizing its fleet of two narrow-body and two wide-body aircraft.