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Flydubai Begins Services to Kathmandu

DUBAI — flydubai, Dubai’s first low-cost carrier, has begun services to Kathmandu, Nepal, home to the world’s highest point — the Mount Everest. The Himalayan nation was the second new destination in under a week for the airline, after it commenced flights to Bahrain on Sunday.

The dramatic mountain range route becomes the eleventh in flydubai’s network and its first east of Dubai. Kathmandu is also the furthest destination reached by flydubai’s Boeing 737-800NG aircraft at 3,000kms from Dubai and a flying time of 3hours 
and 55 minutes.

A special welcoming committee including Shtrudhn Prasad Singh, State Minister of Civil Aviation and Tourism; Subash Niraula, Officiating CEO, Nepal Tourism Board; Dinesh Prasad Shrestha, General Manager, Tribhuvan International Airport; R. S. Bajracharya, Deputy Inspector-General and Chief of Airport security; S. R. Prasai, Chairman, Universal Tours and Travels, and other officials from the ministry and Tourism Board greeted the aircraft and its passengers on arrival.

Ghaith Al Ghaith, CEO of flydubai, was also on board: “This is a great time for flydubai. The past four weeks have been one of the busiest periods since we launched. We signed major aircraft financing agreements worth nearly $200 million at the Dubai Airshow and we have opened routes to Khartoum, Baku, Bahrain and now Kathmandu.”

The thriving capital of Nepal is becoming a popular destination for hundreds of thousands of tourists, many of them coming for the breathtaking views and treks of the Himalayas. Almost three times as many tourists have visited the region in the first half of this year as in the same period in 2008, said the country’s tourism authority.

business@khaleejtimes.com