Pokhara-Bhadrapur direct flight enthuses tourism entrepreneurs

PKHARA, March 03: Tourism entrepreneurs in Pokhara are excited after preparations are made to connect Pokhara to Eastern destinations by air. The private sector Buddha Air has prepared to fly directly from Pokhara to Bhadrapur from March 9.

"Buddha Air is committed to provide easy service to passengers by connecting east-west through air connectivity with the operation of the international airport in Pokhara", said Gautam Baral, station manager. He also informed that the Pokhara-Bhadrapur flight will start after a few days.
 
According to Manager Baral, four aircraft of Buddha Air will be at Pokhara International Airport at night time. Those planes will take off at four locations in the morning.

Kathmandu, Bhairahawa, Nepalgunj are flying regularly, now the plane will fly from Pokhara to Bhadrapur at 6:15 am. It is said that the flight from Bhadrapur to Pokhara will be at 6:55 pm. The flight distance will be one hour and 10 minutes.

He said that since there is no direct flight between Pokhara and Bhadrapur, the passengers coming here are suffering, so they are going to operate direct flights for the convenience of passengers. According to manager Baral, this will connect the western region with the eastern destination and help bring domestic tourism as well as Indian tourists to Pokhara.

Pomnarayan Shrestha, chairman of Pokhara Tourism Council, expressed his belief that with the operation of the international airport in Pokhara, connectivity with other districts will increase and internal tourism will be promoted. "Pokhara is a tourist city, Buddha Air's direct flight facilitates the tourists who want to come to Pokhara from the east and also plays a role in bringing Indian tourists to Pokhara", he said.

President Shrestha complained about the lack of international flights even though the international airport is operating here and urged the government and stakeholders to take initiatives for the earliest possible flights.

Chief of Pokhara Tourism Board Kashiraj Bhandari said that as tourists are interested in fast and comfortable travel, the traffic of tourists will increase as well as air connectivity. He said that Pokhara-Bhadrapur direct flight will promote tourism. Chief Bhandari said that the direct flight will facilitate the sale and distribution of local products along with tourism.

Along with this, Buddha Air is also starting night flights from Pokhara International Airport from March 9. Tourism entrepreneurs here expect that the number of tourists will increase as travelers from various destinations come to Pokhara to stay in Pokhara.

Currently, while traveling by road from Pokhara to Bhadrapur, it takes about 18 hours and one has to pay a fare ranging from 2400 to 2700 rupees, but by air, you can travel within 70 minutes and the air fare also costs 9,685 rupees.