Buddha Air is going to fly Kathmandu-Bharatpur with a 72-seater aircraft. Due to the short runway, Budha, which used to fly with 42-seater aircraft, is now going to fly with 72-seater aircraft. Bhakta Bahadur Basnet, manager of Buddha Air Bharatpur, informed that they are preparing to operate a large ship after a week. Last week Shree Air has completed the test flight of Kathmandu-Bharatpur 80-seater aircraft. According to Basnet, since the airline has received permission, regular flights will be conducted along with the test flight.
He said that because the runway is short, it is not possible to fill all the seats of the ship. According to Basnet, it is estimated that the ship will carry 60 to 62 passengers from Kathmandu to Bharatpur and 50 to 60 passengers from Bharatpur to Kathmandu. At present Buddha’s ATR-42 ships are operating in Kathmandu and Pokhara.
There are nine daily Kathmandu-Bharatpur and one daily Bharatpur Pokhara. Although this ship has a capacity of 47 seats, it has not been able to operate at full capacity due to the runway and heat. The ship that is going to be operated now is ATR-72. Buddha has been flying regularly to Bharatpur since 2005. Buddha Air has served more than 11,000 passengers a month. One-way fare is more than four thousand seven hundred rupees when small ships fly. It is said that air fares will decrease with the operation of large ships. Bharatpur Airport’s new terminal building and runway are also being expanded.