Gandaki, 12 March: As part of an effort to establish regular international flights from Pokhara International Airport, the first commercial chartered flight from Pokhara to Chengdu in friendly country China will be operated on March 20.
Pokhara Tourism Council Chairman Taranath Pahari informed that for the first time, commercial chartered flights are being operated at a time when regular international flights have not been possible even two years after the inauguration of the Pokhara International Airport, which has been in operation for a long time due to the demand of the Pokhara people and the joint efforts of the government and the private sector.
“This international flight is being operated in collaboration with the Chinese Embassy in Nepal and Sichuan Airlines under the leadership of the Pokhara Tourism Council, with the aim of encouraging us, the private sector tourism entrepreneurs, to make some efforts as the flights have not been resumed despite repeated requests to the relevant higher bodies of the state to resume international flights from Pokhara,” he said.
He said that China Travels International Chengdu, in particular, is collaborating in the initial flights, while the Nepal-based Chinese Overseas Association is also playing a coordinating role. He said that it is believed that this flight will boost tourism in Pokhara and the entire Gandaki Province.
He said that the Chinese Embassy, ​​Sichuan Airlines and China Travel International Chengdu have informed that efforts are being made to arrange for approximately 1,250 Chinese tourists to land directly at Pokhara International Airport from China’s Sichuan province over the next three months.
The Pokhara Tourism Council and all tourism professionals are making continuous efforts to start with a few commercial chartered flights in the initial phase and convert them into commercial flights and operate regular international flights, the council said.
Pokhara Metropolitan City Mayor Dhanraj Acharya said that for the first time, commercial chartered flights are being operated from Pokhara as an attempt to establish regular international flights, and that regular flights should be introduced instead of just chartered flights. He said that if tourists from China, which has a large population, can be brought in, it will make a significant contribution to the tourism of Pokhara and the entire Nepal.
DCM of the Chinese Embassy in Nepal, Wang Xin, said that the commercial chartered flight from Pokhara will make a significant contribution to the overall economic and tourism development of Pokhara, expressing confidence that the long-standing relationship between Nepal and China will further deepen in the coming days.
According to the flight schedule, a plane carrying 127 Chinese passengers from Chengdu will land at Pokhara Airport at 10 am on Chaitra 20. On that day, 127 tourism entrepreneurs will depart from Pokhara for Chengdu at 12 noon.
It is reported that Pokhara Metropolitan City Mayor Dhanraj Acharya, Nepal Tourism Board Gandaki Province Chief Maniraj Lamichhane, Pokhara Visit Year 2025 Implementation Committee Coordinator Gopi Bahadur Bhattarai, Pokhara Tourism Council Chairman Taranath Pahari, and others will participate in the commercial chartered flight.
The seven-night, eight-day program during the first commercial flight will focus on Chengdu, Luzhou, Emei, Lishan, and Chongqing in Sichuan Province, to gather information about tourism development and expansion there, informed the council’s general secretary Jeevan Raj Sapkota. Similarly, Nepal Evening and Sales Missions are being organized by the Nepal Tourism Board and in collaboration with the Nepali Consulate General in Chengdu on March 19 and 22, respectively, informed Mani Raj Lamichhane, chief of the Nepal Tourism Board Pokhara office.
“The sales mission program to be conducted along with the first commercial chartered flight from Pokhara as an international flight will significantly contribute to the promotion of tourism in Pokhara and the entire Nepal,” he said. Similarly, it is said that under the leadership of the Mayor of Pokhara Metropolitan City, meetings will be held with some distinguished individuals and their counterparts in Luzhou City and important issues will be discussed.
Gopi Bahadur Bhattarai, coordinator of the Pokhara Visit Year 2025 Executive Committee, said that the first commercial chartered flight is significant in itself, given that regular international flights have not been possible from Pokhara even after two years of operation.
