KATHMANDU, June 24 (Xinhua) — The H9665 flight operated by Himalaya Airlines took off from Kathmandu on Saturday morning and landed in Beijing about four hours later, marking the resumption of direct flights between the Nepali and Chinese capitals after a hiatus of three years.
The return H9666 flight shall come back to Kathmandu on the same day, as the Kathmandu-based airline is operating a round trip every Saturday for now.
An Yongsheng, the airline’s general manager of the China Office, stressed the significance of the resumption. “The resumed flights will promote trade, tourism and cultural exchanges between the two countries.”
The Himalaya Airlines, a Nepal-China joint venture established in August 2014, started Kathmandu-Beijing flights in late October 2019. The flights were suspended for three years following the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic.
The airline is set to resume or open new routes to China, including round-trip flights from Kathmandu to Shanghai and Qingdao. ■
