Sichuan Airlines to begin operation in Nepal from mid-March

KATHMANDU - Sichuan Airlines, a Chinese airlines company, has received a green signal from the Ministry of Culture, Tourism and Civil Aviation to begin its operation in Nepal.

The Chinese carrier is starting the daily flights to Nepal from mid-March.

Society Travels, a sole General Sales Agent (GSA) in Nepal, informed that Sichuan Airlines will begin its daily operation on Chengdu-Lhasa-Kathmandu route through Airbus 319.

"We have already got the operating authorization from the ministry. Once we get the approval of Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal for slot management, we will start selling tickets and beginning the service," Sunil Sharma, managing director of Society Travels told Xinhua on Wednesday.

According to Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal, Sichuan Airlines will get the slot by next week as its director general is out of the country for a week.

Sichuan Airlines will be the fourth Chinese carrier flying from China to this Himalayan nation after Air China, China Southern and China Eastern airlines.

In recent years, growing air connectivity and flight frequency between the two nations have lifted the number of Chinese visitors in Nepal. In 2013, the number of Chinese tourists reached 113,173, the highest so far.