Gandaki. Flydubai and tourism entrepreneurs of Pokhara have discussed ways to make the Pokhara-Dubai flight service sustainable from September 23.

During a meeting with the office-bearers of Pokhara Chamber of Commerce and Industry and Restaurant and Bar Association (REBAN) Pokhara on Sunday, NABARAJ Shahi, Fly Dubai’s Nepal Country Manager informed that works have been initiated to make Pokhara flights sustainable.

He said that support from locals and stakeholders would be important to make the Pokhara-Dubai flight sustainable. This flight has provided an opportunity to the people of Gandaki Province and its surrounding areas to directly reach more than 250 destinations of the world like London, New York and Tokyo.

On the occasion, President of Pokhara Chamber of Commerce and Industry Gokarna Karki pledged that the private sector would provide maximum support to make the international flights from Pokhara sustainable. Ramesh Lamichhane, general manager of Fly Emirates, the sister organization of Fly Dubai, said that all preparations are underway to make the flight long-term. Pom Narayan Shrestha, former president of Pokhara Tourism Council, said that support from all sides was needed to make Flydubai Pokhara-Dubai flight regular and sustainable.

On the occasion, the officials of Restaurant and Bar Association Nepal (REBAN), Pokhara and Fly Dubai discussed various issues related to tourism promotion, business collaboration and various matters of mutual interest. Sustainable development of the tourism sector, increase in international tourist arrivals and further strengthening cooperation between the private sector were stressed on the occasion.

The Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal (CAAN) last month granted permission to Fly Dubai for daily Dubai-Pokhara-Dubai flights. Meanwhile, Flydubai has already made its flight schedule public. Initially, Flydubai had announced that it would operate only one flight a day for a month, but the bookings are open till March 26, 2027.

A team from Flydubai had recently inspected high-level security, safety and operation of Pokhara International Airport. Fly Dubai got the flight permission shortly after the government announced to make diplomatic initiatives to attract international airlines to Pokhara International Airport in its policy and program for the fiscal year 2083/84.

Tourism entrepreneurs are hoping to bring in a large number of foreign tourists by connecting Pokhara to the international air network. Except for charter flights to some neighbouring countries, regular international flights have not been operated from Pokhara so far. Pokhara International Airport, built with a loan of around Rs 22 billion, is limited to domestic flights only. The airport was inaugurated on January 1, 2023.