Losses compel Tara Air to halt flights from Surkhet

SURKHET, March 9: Tara Air has halted its regular flights from Surkhet to Mugu, Humla, and Jumla due to losses incurred on every flight.

The air service, inaugurated by the Minister for Industry, Tourism, Forest and Environment of Karnali Province, Suresh Adhikari, on December 4, 2024, has now been closed.

The Himali Tour and Travels company had been operating flights to three districts through Tara Air. The company stated that it had to stop the service because they did not receive support from the Karnali Province government and they were facing losses on every flight.

Min Bahadur Rawal from the Himali Tour and Travels said that although they had initially agreed to provide two regular flights per week to the three districts, the air service had to be suspended due to a lack of necessary support.

Meanwhile, Yeti Airlines completed a Surkhet-Kathmandu test flight on Saturday. The Airlines has also completed a test flight in Dhangadhi on Saturday. Yeti's 9N-AMN ATR 72 aircraft successfully completed the test flight, said airline spokesperson Sudarshan Bartaula.

According to Bartaula, the test flight was conducted by the airline's instructor pilot duo, Samartha Ratna Tuladhar and Raju Rajbanshi. Representatives of the Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal (CAAN) and Yeti Airlines, including technicians and employees, were present to observe the flight.

Spokesperson Bartaula said that the test flights were conducted to operate regular flights to Surkhet and Dhangadhi airports in the coming days and use them as alternative airports. He said that preparations would be made to operate regular flights based on the report of the test flights.

Yubaraj Kumar Bista, Chief Business Officer of Yeti Airlines, said that the aim is to expand the market by increasing the range of flights in view of passenger demand. He said that this, along with regular flights, will increase the confidence of passengers towards the airline.

The airline has also stated that it completed a test flight at Rajbiraj Airport on March 4. Buddha Air and Shree Airlines have been operating flights in Surkhet, and now it is expected that tickets will be cheaper with the addition of Yeti.

After the closure of air services in Surkhet, people from the Himalayan districts of Karnali now have to rely on the Nepalgunj airport in Banke for travel. Airlines like Tara, Summit, and Goma Air have been operating flights from Banke to destinations like Humla, Jumla, Mugu, and Dolpa.

Government-owned Nepal Airlines does not operate flights from Surkhet airport, and the airline does not even have an office in Karnali. Passengers said that they are forced to use Nepalgunj Airport in Lumbini province to travel from Surkhet to the mountainous districts