Novoair to operate BD-Nepal flights
The government has granted operation authorization to Dhaka-based Novoair to operate flights between the Bangladeshi capital and Kathmandu, less than a month after another Bangladeshi carrier US-Bangla Airlines received s similar permit.
Novoair, which plans to start services in June, has been allocated 850 seats per week on the Kathmandu-Dhaka route, said Pramod Nepal, under secretary at the Tourism Ministry.
The carrier was established in October 2001 and began international flights in December 2015. Kathmandu will be its second international destination after Myanmar. Novoair’s fleet consists of three Embraer ERJ 145 and three ATR 72-500 aircraft.
Meanwhile, US-Bangla Airlines has postponed the launch of its Kathmandu service to mid-May. It had originally planned to start flights in April. Novoair is the sixth Bangladeshi airline to receive flight permission after Biman Bangladesh, GMG Airlines, United Airways, Regent Airways and US-Bangla Airlines. However, none of them operates flights to Kathmandu except Biman. Regent Airways had received operation authorization last year. International air passenger traffic through Tribhuvan International Airport (TIA) dropped for the first time in 13 years as travellers stayed away due to the April earthquake last year and a jet fuel shortage caused by an Indian trade embargo. ?Kathmandu Post
