Airline operators said they ope-rated 28 mountain flights in the day, the highest ever so far this tourist season.
Responding to overwhelming demands, Buddha Air added five more flights to its 10 regular flights. Domestic private air operators introduced the hourlong mountain flight schedule during the tourist season to show the visitors the country's majestic mastiffs.
“We had this season's record number of mountain flights today,” said Rupesh Joshi, Senior Marketing Manager of Buddha Air. He said his airline was operating three regular mountain flights every day during the off-season. Other airlines cashed in on the opportunity, operating 13 mountain flights to cater to the tourists. Guna Air operated five mountain flights in the day, while Yeti operated four.
“The demand for mountain flights has surged this year due to an increase in the number of foreign tourists,” said Prajwol Thapa, marketing manager at the Guna Air, which operated 120 mountain flights in October. The Nepali sky recorded 542 mountain flights this October, but this figure remained low compared to the corresponding month last year, which saw 550 flights. Joshi said increase in the number of domestic and international flights had led to air traffic congestion. “That's why, flight operators are finding it hard to add mountain flights.”
Altogether 56,009 visitors came to Nepal this October, which is an increase of 10.6 percent compared to the cor-responding period last year. Tourist arrival figures went up in June, July, August and September by 6, 10, 5, and 5.5 percent, respectively.
With the last five months' tourist arrival figures quite encouraging, airlines operating mountain flights can hope to soar higher.
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