Tara Air has suspended its regular flights from Surkhet to Mugu, Humla, and Jumla due to continuous losses on each flight. The service, which was inaugurated by Karnali Province’s Minister for Industry, Tourism, Forests, and Environment, Suresh Adhikari, on December 4, 2024, has now been halted.
Himali Tour and Travels, which had been using Tara Air for flights to the three districts, stated that it had to stop the service because it did not receive support from the Karnali Province government and faced consistent losses.
Min Bahadur Rawal from the travel agency mentioned that although the service began with an agreement to operate two flights per week to the three districts, it was halted due to a lack of necessary support.
Meanwhile, private airline Yeti Airlines conducted a successful test flight from Surkhet to Kathmandu on Saturday, and another test flight was carried out from Dhangadhi. Yeti’s ATR 72 aircraft completed the tests under the supervision of pilot instructors Samarth Ratna Tuladhar and Raju Rajwanshi.
The test flights were conducted with the aim of establishing regular flights and using Surkhet and Dhangadhi airports as alternative airports. Based on the test flight report, Yeti is preparing to start regular flights. Yeti Airlines’ Chief Commercial Officer, Yuvraj Kumar Bisht, stated that the aim is to expand the market and increase the frequency of flights in response to passenger demand.
Additionally, Yeti Airlines recently completed a successful test flight at Rajbiraj Airport on February 20. With the addition of Yeti Airlines, there is an expectation that ticket prices will become more affordable for flights from Surkhet.
Karnali’s Mountainous Districts Rely on Nepalgunj for Air Travel With the suspension of flights from Surkhet, passengers traveling to the mountainous districts of Karnali now have to use the Nepalgunj Airport in Banke. Tara, Summit, and Goma Air have been operating flights from Nepalgunj to districts like Humla, Jumla, Mugu, and Dolpa.
Nepal Airlines, a government-owned carrier, has not operated any flights from Surkhet airport, and there is no airline office in Karnali. As a result, passengers are now reliant on using the Nepalgunj airport in Lumbini Province for air travel to Karnali’s mountainous regions.
