Banking News – Tourism entrepreneurs in Pokhara appear confident that the Dubai-Pokhara-Dubai flight service started by Fly Dubai from Ashoj 7 will be regular and sustainable. Fly Dubai, which initially opened ticket bookings for six months, has opened bookings until October 30, 2027, further convincing businesspersons that the flight will be regular.

Pomnarayan Shrestha, operator of Fly Namaste Travels, stated that Fly Dubai increased the booking period after the Dubai-Pokhara-Dubai flight was encouraging from the very beginning. He said:

“With bookings open until next year, confidence that the flight will operate regularly has increased further. This is a pleasant matter for Pokhara’s tourism entrepreneurs and everyone else.”

Since it is the festival season, the number of people traveling from Pokhara to Dubai is somewhat lower compared to passengers coming to Pokhara from Dubai. Tourism entrepreneur Shrestha stated that the number of passengers traveling from Pokhara to Dubai will increase after the festivals. He, who is also a former president of the Pokhara Tourism Council, stated that everyone’s support and cooperation is needed to make Fly Dubai’s flight successful.

Binod Singh Rawat, Information Officer of the Civil Aviation Office at Pokhara International Airport, stated that although one Fly Dubai flight was canceled due to bad weather since Ashoj 7, flights have been operating regularly on other days. According to Fly Dubai’s flight schedule, the aircraft has been landing in Pokhara at 6:15 PM every day and departing for Dubai at 7:15 PM.

As of last Monday, 3,113 passengers have arrived in Pokhara from Dubai through Fly Dubai’s flight, and 1,423 passengers have departed from Pokhara to Dubai. Pokhara’s tourism entrepreneurs and related parties working to make Fly Dubai’s flight effective appear confident and excited that the flight will be sustainable. With ticket bookings encouraging, hopes have also arisen among tours and travel businesspersons that the flight will be regular. Hotels and restaurants have introduced various discount schemes targeting passengers arriving on this flight. Fly Dubai is currently operating the Dubai-Pokhara-Dubai flight with a Boeing 737 Max 8 aircraft with a capacity of 165 passengers.

Fly Dubai is the first airline company to start regular international flights from Pokhara International Airport. Earlier, some airline companies had conducted charter flights to international destinations from Pokhara. With the start of Fly Dubai’s flight, Pokhara’s air network has expanded with many countries around the world using Dubai as a transit point. It is believed that this will provide important support to Pokhara’s tourism, business, employment, and overall economic activities in the long term. Regular international flights had not been possible from this airport, which came into operation in January 2023.

Fly Dubai started the flight shortly after the government announced in the current fiscal year’s policy and program that diplomatic initiatives would be taken to attract international airline service providers to Pokhara International Airport. The Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal had granted permission to Fly Dubai for the Dubai-Pokhara-Dubai flight on Jestha 25 last year. The government has provided discounts on various fees charged at the airport to attract airline companies for international flights. Parking, landing, and navigation fees at the airport have been completely waived until the end of Bhadau 2085 BS. Similarly, there is a provision for a 50 percent discount on ground handling fees.