Buddha Air plans to operate a 72-seater aircraft between Kathmandu and Bharatpur

KATHMANDU, June 25:Buddha Air plans to fly a 72-seater aircraft between Kathmandu and Bharatpur. Due to the short runway, Buddha Air, which was flying with 42-seater aircraft in the past, is now going to fly with 72-seater aircraft.

Bhakta Bahadur Basnet, manager of Buddha Air Bharatpur, told us that they are planning to operate a huge aircraft in a week. Shree Air successfully tested an 80-seater Kathmandu-Bharatpur aircraft last week. According to Basnet, now that the airline has gotten approval, regular flights will be done alongside the test flight.

He stated that due to the short runway, it is impossible to fill all of the aircraft's seats. According to Basnet, the aircraft is expected to carry 60 to 62 passengers from Kathmandu to Bharatpur and 50 to 60 passengers from Bharatpur to Kathmandu. Buddha's ATR-42 aircraft are now operating in Kathmandu and Pokhara. There are nine daily flights from Kathmandu to Bharatpur and one daily flight from Bharatpur to Pokhara. Despite its 47-seat capacity, this aircraft has been unable to operate at full capacity due to runway and heat.

Now the plane that is going to be operated is ATR-72. Buddha has been flying regularly to Bharatpur since 2005. Now Buddha Air has served more than 11 thousand passengers per month.

When flying in small planes, the one-way fee costs more than Rs 4,700. Large plane are expected to reduce airfares. The new terminal building at Bharatpur Airport is under construction, while the runway is being enlarged.