Himalaya Airlines launches direct flights to Colombo

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Newly launched Himalaya Airlines made its first commercial flight between Kathmandu to Colombo on April 12. The Airlines made history by becoming the first carrier to reestablish a direct flight link between Nepal and Sri Lanka after almost three decades.

The flight was jointly launched by Chinese Ambassador to Nepal Wu Chuntai, Sri Lankan Ambassador to Nepal WM Senevirathna and Cheng Yiru, chairman of Tibet Airlines. Tibet Airlines holds 48.99 percent of equity capital in Himalaya Airlines.

More than 90 percent of Sri Lankan tourists enter Nepal overland from Bhairahawa: the biggest draw for the tourists being Lumbini, the birthplace of Buddha. Some 37,546 Sri Lankans visited Nepal in 2014 and the country is the fourth largest source market for Nepal after India, China and the U.S.

Royal Nepal Airlines used to operate direct flights to Colombo during the 1980s which was suspended after the political upheaval following the armed movement by the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) in Sri Lanka.

Himalaya Airlines also plans to operate flights to Delhi and Doha by end of April.