Buddha Air starts direct flight to Bharatpur, Bhairahawa from Pokhara

Tourism entrepreneurs elated

POKHARA, Sept 15: Buddha Air started direct flight to Bharatpur and Bhairahawa from Pokhara with 18-seat Beechcraft 1900D on Friday.

Gautam Baral, station manager of the private carrier in Pokhara, said that the aircraft flew to Bharatpur from Pokhara at 10:30 am. The aircraft operated flight to Bhairahawa from Pokhara later in the day, he added. “Our new flights will connect three major tourist destinations of the country -- Pokhara, Sauraha and Lumbini,” Baral added.

The new flights have provided some respite to tourism entrepreneurs who had been facing difficulty in transfer of tourists from Pokhara to Sauraha and Bhairahawa - the birthplace of Lord Buddha - due to pathetic road conditions.

“If the demand for seats rises, we will operate ATR-42 and ATR-72 on these routes,” Baral added.

The Pokhara-Bharatpur flight takes only 16 minutes, while it takes the aircraft 20 minutes to reach Bhairahawa from Pokhara.

The airline has fixed fare for the Pokhara-Bharatpur fare at Rs 3,650 for Nepalis and US$ 92 for foreigners. Similarly, for Pokhara-Bhairahawa Nepali and foreign passengers will have to pay Rs 4,200 and $97, respectively.

“Passengers have been facing lot of trouble while traveling between Bharatpur and Pokhara due to road widening work in the Narayanghat-Mugling section. Also, the drive along Siddhartha Highway that connects Pokhara with Bhairahawa is also not convenient,” Baral said, adding: “This flight will make travel lot comfortable.”

There were 14 passengers on board the Pokhara-Bharatpur flight, while the return flight carried 18 passengers. Similarly, the airline flew five passengers on Pokhara-Bhairahawa flight, while the return flight had 17 passengers, according to Baral.

According to local tourism entrepreneurs, Shangri-La Air and Gorkha Air used to operate direct flight between Pokhara and Bhairahawa around 15 years ago. Similarly, Nepal Airlines Corporation (NAC) used to operate flights on Pokhara-Bharatpur route 10 years ago.

Suman Ghimire, president of Regional Hotel Association Chitwan, said that he was hopeful that the operation of flights between three major tourist destinations will increase tourist footfalls. Likewise, Bhola Prashad Guragain, chief of Pokhara Airport, said that the flights should be made regular.

Baral said that flight booking is encouraging. “As we have launched the flights on the eve of the major festive season, we are hopeful of getting good business,” he added.

Meanwhile, tourism entrepreneurs have assured to provide full support to the airline. Many Indian tourists come to Pokhara by road from Bhairahawa after entering the country via Belahiya border. “Now, they can easily reach Pokhara by using the new flight service, avoiding the lengthy and tiresome bus journey,” Kedar Sharma, president of Pokhara Tourism Council (PTC), said. “So far, Indian tourists, who came to visit Muktinath, have been coming to Pokhara by bus before taking a flight to Jomsom. Now, they can fly to Pokhara and then to Muktinath,” he added,

As most of the Indians traveling to Muktinath are senior citizens, the new flight will make the journey convenient and comfortable for them, Sharma added.