DHANGADHI, Aug 12: The duration of air travel from Dhangadhi to Kathmandu, the longest among the domestic routes, has come down to 48 minutes, thanks to the new jet aircraft of Shree Airlines that started flights in this sector on Friday.
It used to take 1 hours and 10 minutes to reach Kathmandu from Dhangadhi on other aircraft. The commercial operation of jet aircraft by Shree Airlines has come for the comfort of the travelers.
Shree is the biggest helicopter service provider in Nepal, which has now started operating passenger aircraft.
Shree Airlines plane returned from runway just before take-off
Locals are happy about the reduced travel time. Maya Prakash Bhatta, a tourism entrepreneur said: “We are happy as Shree Airlines started the operation in Dhangadhi, so we went to the airport to receive them for the first time.”
At a formal event organized for welcoming the staff and the crew, Chief District Officer Govinda Rijal appreciated the introduction of jet aircraft in the Kathmandu-Dhangadhi sector.
Rajesh Khati, a local who travelled by the Shree Airlines plane said the journey was shorter and more enjoyable. “Locals will benefit from the jet aircraft,” he said.
The time taken has been cut down by 25 minutes. Krishna Bahadur Ter, a passenger said, “The airplanes fly 19,000 to 23,000 meters high. The distance of Kathmandu and Dhangadhi seemed very short.”
The operation started on Friday after Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal approved fixed-wing aircraft to operate regular flights in this sector. More than half of the tickets for Saturday were booked on Friday.
“Along with this, four flights have come into regular operation,” said Chief of Dhangadhi Civil Aviation Office. “There used to be more than 1,400 passengers who complained of lack of tickets even when three regular flights operated every day. Now we hope the situation will become better.”
