Kathmandu: The tourism entrepreneurs and business people from Pokhara have expedited their efforts to ensure the sustainability of the proposed Pokhara-Dubai-Pokhara direct flight which is scheduled to begin on September 23.
According to National News Agency Nepal, the entrepreneurs from the city held a meeting with the Ambassador of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) to Nepal, Abdulla Saeed Mubarak Jarwan Al Shamsi, to discuss the issues of regular flights. The meeting with the Ambassador was centered on the sustainability of the direct flight being initiated by flydubai. The key concern was to make the Pokhara-Dubai flight effective and sustainable, the immediate past president of the Pokhara Tourism Council, Pom Narayan Shrestha, said.
Shrestha added that discussions were held on advancing initiatives from all sides to ensure the regular flights. Former Member of the Nepal Tourism Board (NTB) Basudev Tripathi, President of Hotel Association Pokhara Laxman Subedi, Chairman of Pokhara Chamber of Commerce and Industry Gokarna Karki, among other tourism entrepreneurs, were present at the meeting.
Prior to this, the business people from the Pokhara city had held talks with the country representative of flydubai. Once materialized, the international flights from Pokhara will connect the city directly to over 250 destinations across the world, including London, New York, Tokyo, and others.
The Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal had granted flydubai permission to operate daily flights from Dubai-Pokhara-Dubai flights. The airline company has announced its flight schedule and opened ticket bookings until March 26, 2027.
The policies and programs of the government for the current fiscal year include taking diplomatic efforts to attract international airline operators to make flights to and from the Pokhara International Airport. Despite three years since its opening, regular international flights from the Pokhara International Airport have yet to be fully materialized.
The Himalaya Airlines had launched regular commercial flights from Pokhara to China’s Lhasa in March 2025, but the flight service is currently suspended due to a lower occupancy rate. The Pokhara-Dubai flight of flydubai will be the second commercial flight from the Pokhara International Airport. However, charter flights to various destinations in China, India, and Bhutan have taken place.
The Pokhara-Dubai-Pokhara flight services will receive foreigners directly to Pokhara, and the business plan is expected to benefit passengers, the business community, and the Nepali diaspora traveling to GCC countries and others for foreign employment, education, and other purposes. It is hoped that the beginning of the flight on the Pokhara-Dubai-Pokhara route and its sustainability will boost tourism activities in the city, thereby creating more job opportunities and contributing to the economic activities in the country.