Saturday, August 10, 2019

Shree Airlines to fly to Varanasi

Shree Airlines is going to fly to Varanasi as the Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal (CAAN) has today permitted the airliner to operate chartered flights to Varanasi in India.
The airlines will now conduct a demonstration flight to Varanasi and take forth other procedures for regular operation, according to marketing manager of the airline Anil Manandhar. “The demonstration flight will be conducted on Monday with a 78-seat Bombardier CRJ 700 aircraft carrying representatives from CAAN and the airline company,” he said, adding that the Airports Authority of India (AAI) will decide whether to provide air operator’s certificate (AOC) to the airlines after the demonstration flight.
Shree Airlines has been seeking permission from CAAN – since last one-and-a-half years – to operate short-distance international flights. “As we have received permission to operate flights to Varanasi, we hope to contribute to Visit Nepal Year 2020 campaign through this flight,” Manandhar said, adding that India is the largest market for Nepal’s tourism sector. “We are aiming to carry more Indian tourists to Nepal.
“If we could operate scheduled flights then we will be able to bring more Indian tourists to the country,” he said, adding that the CAAN has, however, given permission for chartered flights only.
Currently, Buddha Air has been operating scheduled flights to Varanasi.
Shree Airlines plans to use three of its four aircraft – two 50-seat CRJ-200s and a 70-seat CRJ-700 – to conduct short-distance international chartered flights. Shree Airlines began its operation in 2002 as a helicopter service provider but launched fixed-wing air operations in August 2017. It has been operating scheduled domestic flights to Biratnagar, Nepalgunj, Dhangadhi, Bhairahawa and Bhadrapur.