KATHMANDU, Dec 2: Himalaya Airlines has launched direct flights from Kathmandu to Shanghai, China. The airline has started regular flights to one of China's biggest cities, Shanghai, from today.
A Himalayan flight with 137 passengers left Tribhuvan International Airport (TIA) for Shanghai at 9:20 AM today. The airline said that the plane will take passengers from Shanghai and land at Kathmandu airport at 9 PM today
The Kathmandu-Shanghai flight will take five hours and 20 minutes. The company said that there will be a regular flight every Saturday morning.
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This is the first flight of Himalaya Airlines to Shanghai. Along with this, the company has expanded its flights to nine cities, including Beijing, the capital of China.
In a press conference held today at TIA to inform about the inaugural flight, Himalaya Airlines Vice President Vijay Shrestha expressed his belief that the direct flight to China's main commercial and tourist city will further strengthen the relationship between the two countries and help attract more Chinese tourists to Nepal.
He expressed his belief that the Kathmandu-Shanghai air connectivity network will help to take Nepal-China relations to a higher level, increase business partnership and bring in more Chinese tourists.
Vice President Shrestha said that the number of flights to Chinese cities have increased as the border crossings have been opened after COVID-19. He expressed belief that the number of flights will increase in the coming days and the number of tourists will also likely increase in the coming days.
General Manager of Tribhuvan International Airport, Pratap Babu Tiwari, expressed his belief that Chinese tourists will increase in the coming days as flights from China are gradually expanding after the pandemic.
He informed that around 15,000 passengers are traveling through more than 100 international flights at Kathmandu Airport lately.
Xie Yu, Economic and Commercial Consul of the Chinese Embassy in Nepal, said that the flight of Himalaya Airlines between Shanghai and Kathmandu has strengthened the relationship between the two countries and is also important from a commercial point of view.
Shanghai is one of the largest cities in the People's Republic of China. With a population of about 40 million people, Shanghai is also known as the industrial capital of China. It is also considered to be the main commercial center of China.
