Province 6, which has recently been named Karnali Province, will soon be directly linked by air with Kathmandu. There will be direct flights between Kathmandu and the provincial capital Surkhet from early next month. Nepal Airlines Corporation (NAC), the national flag carrier, and Buddha Air, a private carrier, have agreed to fly between Kathmandu and Surkhet start­ing April 4. The two carriers reached an agreement to this effect with the federal ministry of Culture, Tourism and Civil Aviation last week.

 

Currently, there is no direct air service from the capital to any district of Karnali Prov­ince. As a result, travelers from that province have to use the airport in Nepalgunj, the cap­ital of Province 5. For about six months in 2013, Buddha Air used to fly between Kath­mandu and Surkhet, but it had to terminate the service after incurring heavy losses. Many passengers preferred to fly into or out of Nepalgunj (instead of Surkhet) as it was cheaper. The airline compa­nies have now agreed to adjust ticket prices.

 

The resumption of flights between Kathmandu and Surkhet is also expected to bring more tourists to Karnali.  

 

BY LALIT B. BUDA | SURKHET