Himalaya airlines starts Kathmandu-Shanghai flight

KATHMANDU, Dec. 2 (Xinhua) -- Himalaya Airlines on Saturday launched its inaugural flight from the Nepali capital of Kathmandu to Shanghai, China's economic hub.

The H9780 flight took off in the morning with 141 passengers aboard, and the H9781 flight is scheduled to return to Kathmandu with 95 passengers onboard in the evening.

The airlines is operating a round trip from Kathmandu to Shanghai on an A320 plane every Saturday, while two flights have been scheduled per week from Dec. 20 to Jan. 27, 2024.

The Kathmandu-based operator, a Nepal-China joint venture established in August 2014, resumed direct flights between Kathmandu and Beijing in June and started direct flights from Kathmandu to the eastern Chinese coastal city of Qingdao in September.

Addressing the inauguration ceremony, Xie Yu, a counselor at the Chinese Embassy in Nepal, voiced his belief that the new flight will bring to Nepal more tourists from eastern China.

"This is truly an exciting milestone," said Pratap Babu Tiwari, general manager of the Kathmandu-based Tribhuvan International Airport.

The new route will help boost tourism and trade between Nepal and China, he added.

The tourism sector is a major foreign currency earner and job creator for Nepal.