China-Nepal JV airline to start daily Kathmandu-Doha flight

KATHMANDU, July 7 (Xinhua)-- Himalaya Airlines, a China-Nepal joint venture airline registered in Nepal, announced on Thursday that it is conducting direct flights to Doha, Qatar from Kathmandu on daily basis starting from July 11.

The Himalaya Airlines, which is Nepal's only private sector airline operating international flights currently, said in a press release that the daily flight to Doha was scheduled to cater to the increasing demand of passengers to the destination.

The route is one of the busiest routes for airlines connecting Nepal because of growing inflow and outflow of Nepalese migrant workers between the two places. The Himalaya Airlines is the second carrier to connect Nepal and Qatar after Qatar Airways.

Currently, the airline's new Airbus 320-214 is flying to Doha thrice a week on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturday since May 31. Although the airline conducted non-scheduled flights to the New Delhi and Colombo, Sri Lanka from Kathmandu, Doha is the destination where the airline started its first scheduled flights.

Vijay Shrestha, vice president of the airline said"Offering a daily direct service to Doha, Qatar is an indication that we would like to prioritize our service in this route."

"The daily service will allow Himalaya Airlines to offer its services to a larger base of our passengers' society, mainly the Nepalese living and working in Qatar."

Apart from Doha, the company has been planning to operate flights to New Delhi, India and various parts of China including Chengdu, Lhasa and Beijing in the near future.

The Himalaya is the joint venture company between China's Tibet Airlines and a few Nepalese private sector companies. Beside Himalaya, state-owned Nepal Airline Corporation is the only another company which is currently conducting international flight from Nepal.