Fiscal Nepal
First Business News Portal in English from Nepal
Buddha air ATR arrived
KATHMANDU: Nepal’s leading domestic airline Buddha Air has added a new-generation ATR 72-600 to its fleet, with the aircraft expected to strengthen operational reliability and potentially transform air connectivity from Pokhara.
The aircraft, registered as 9N-AOS, arrived at Tribhuvan International Airport on Saturday after being ferried from Toulouse, France, via Cairo and Muscat. Buddha Air plans to put the aircraft into commercial service after completing the required regulatory and technical procedures.
The aircraft, acquired for nearly Rs 1.5 billion, takes Buddha Air’s fleet to 17 aircraft. The airline says the addition will further support its schedule of more than 140 daily flights while strengthening fleet reliability and maintenance operations.
The new ATR 72-600 is equipped with advanced digital avionics and satellite-based RNP-AR navigation technology, which is expected to improve flight operations in challenging weather and low-visibility conditions.
Buddha Air sees the technology as particularly significant for Pokhara International Airport, where poor visibility has frequently affected flight schedules. The airline says implementation of RNP-AR technology, in coordination with the Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal, could enable safer operations even when visibility falls to around 1,700 metres, potentially reducing weather-related flight cancellations to below 3%.
The airline’s longer-term vision goes beyond improving domestic connectivity. Buddha Air believes improved operational reliability at Pokhara could help create conditions for expanding the airport’s international connectivity, with the company eventually targeting direct international point-to-point flights from Pokhara using larger aircraft such as the Airbus A319.
The arrival of the ATR 72-600 therefore represents more than a fleet expansion for Buddha Air—it could mark a step toward making Pokhara a more reliable aviation hub and strengthening Nepal’s prospects for direct international air connectivity from outside Kathmandu.
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