Buddha Air to operate 72-seater aircraft for Kathmandu-Bharatpur flights

KATHMANDU: Buddha Air has planned to operate 72-seater aircraft for flights on the Kathmandu-Bharatpur route. Currently, the airline is using 42-seat aircraft due to the short runway at Bharatpur Airport. 

Bhakta Bahadur Basnet, Manager at Buddha Air Bharatpur, has informed that the airline will begin operating the larger plane in about a week. 

Meanwhile, Shree Airlines recently completed a test flight of an 80-seater plane on the same route. With permission granted to Buddha Air, regular flights will now be conducted after the test flight.

The 72-seater aircraft is expected to carry 60 to 62 passengers from Kathmandu to Bharatpur and 50 to 60 passengers from Bharatpur to Kathmandu on a daily basis. Currently, Buddha Air operates ATR-42 aircraft in both Kathmandu and Pokhara. Despite having a capacity of 47 seats, the ATR-42 has not been able to operate at full capacity due to the shorter runway and heat.

Buddha Air has been flying regularly to Bharatpur since 2005, serving more than 11,000 passengers on a monthly basis. The one-way airfare on the Kathmandu-Bharatpur route currently exceeds Rs 4,700, but it is expected to decrease with the introduction of the larger 72-seater aircraft.

Meanwhile, a new terminal building is under construction at Bharatpur Airport, and the expansion of the runway is being expedited.

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