Kolkata (TAN): Nepal-based private airline Buddha Air started operating direct flights between this east Indian city and Kathmandu on Monday.
“On 27th May 56 passengers arrived from Kathmandu by @AirBuddha flight U4 163 and 64 departed from Kolkata by U4 164,” the Kolkata airport tweeted.
The airline will operate three flights a week on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays on this route.
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The U4 163 from the Nepal capital leaves at 0800 hours and land in Kolkata at 0930. The return flight will depart at 1030 and reach Kathmandu at 1230. All are local time.
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The airline has said its travel subsidiary Buddha Holidays would be offering tour packages in both Nepal and places in and around Kolkata. Kolkata used to be the capital of British India before it was shifted to Delhi and has a lot of historical sites related to the colonial era.
Indian nationals do not need a visa to enter Nepal. As a form of identification, they need to produce either a passport or a voter identity card.
“We are very hopeful that this new flight will boost tourist arrivals and strengthen the religious and cultural relationship that India and Nepal share with each other,” Buddha Air’s country manager for India Uddhab Subedi said.
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The airline, which has a fleet of 12 aircraft, now mostly serves domestic destinations in Nepal. The one international flight it currently operates is to Varanasi in India.
Buddha Air also plans to fly to Guwahati, the capital of India’s Assam state, from August 3. It will operate two weekly flights on Tuesdays and Saturdays on this route.
On the Kathmandu-Kolkata route, the airline operates an ATR 72-500 aircraft with 70 seats.
