China's Tibet Airlines starts direct flight on Chengdu-Kathmandu route

A plane carrying the logo of Tibet Airlines lands at an airport in Lanzhou, Gansu province, May 21, 2017. [Photo/VCG]

KATHMANDU - China's Tibet Airlines on Tuesday started its direct flight service on Chengdu-Kathmandu-Chengdu sector, establishing first ever direct flight between the two cities.

The airline's plane TV 9899 departed from Chengdu Shuangliu International Airport at 6:16 pm local time (1016 GMT) and touched down at Tribhuvan International Airport (TIA), Kathmandu at 7:15 pm local time (1315 GMT), according to a press statement issued by Himalaya Airlines, general sales agent of Tibet Airlines.

Lhasa-based Tibet airlines has 49 percent stake in Himalaya, a Nepal-based international airline company.

According to Himalaya Airlines, the Tibet Airlines is conducting four flights a week on the route on Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday. The airline operates its Airbus 319 on the route.

Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal, the aviation regulator, had granted permission to the Tibet Airlines to fly on the route last month.

After conducting a successful proving flight on June 19, the Chinese airline company started the scheduled flights to Nepal starting from Tuesday.

It is the fifth Chinese airline entering into the Nepali sky after four Chinese carriers - Air China, China Southern, China Eastern and Sichuan Airlines.

According to Nepali government officials, increased flight connectivity with China is expected to bring more Chinese tourists to Nepal. Chinese tourist arrivals jumped 55.26 percent to 104,005 in 2016.