NEPALGUNJ: Regular air services between Nepalgunj and Pokhara, suspended for several months, are scheduled to resume from September 16.
Private airline Buddha Air has announced the resumption of the route, citing rising passenger demand. Bineet Bikram Shah, chief of Buddha Air’s Nepalgunj office, said the airline decided to restart the service in response to increasing demand for the route.
According to Shah, the Nepalgunj-Pokhara service has been gaining renewed interest as it provides a direct connection between the two cities and facilitates travel for visitors from Uttar Pradesh, India. The service was suspended on May 19 due to a decline in the number of religious tourists arriving from India and rising fuel costs.
Shah said an increase in religious tourism and growing demand for air travel prompted the airline to resume the flights. The service will operate three days a week—Sundays, Wednesdays and Fridays. Buddha Air has already opened bookings for the flights.
Tourism entrepreneurs in Banke have welcomed the resumption of the service. Krishna Prasad Shrestha, chairman of the Tourism Promotion Forum Banke, said the route is significant for the tourism sector because it provides a direct air link for Indian visitors travelling to Pokhara.
He said the resumption of the flights would make it easier for tourists in Pokhara and other parts of Nepal to visit religious destinations such as Bageshwori Temple in Nepal and Ayodhya in India. The service is also expected to improve connectivity to Pokhara and Mustang for residents of Banke, Bardiya, Dang, Surkhet and other districts in western Nepal.
