Himalaya Airlines launches first direct Shenzhen-Kathmandu flights

Himalaya Airlines has launched the first direct commercial flights between Shenzhen and Kathmandu, opening a new air corridor between Nepal and southern China, the Nepal-based carrier announced in a recent statement. 

The inaugural flight from Shenzhen Bao’an International Airport to Tribhuvan International Airport departed at 6:12 am local time on Friday with 157 passengers, arriving in the Nepali capital of Kathmandu at 8:26 am local time the same day. The first service in the opposite direction had left Kathmandu at 9:59 pm local time the previous evening with 98 passengers on board, landing in Shenzhen at 4:17 am.

Himalaya Airlines is operating two flights a week in each direction using an Airbus A320. Departures from Kathmandu run on Tuesdays and Thursdays at 9:50 pm local time, arriving in Shenzhen at 4:30 am. Return services from Shenzhen run on Wednesdays and Fridays at 5:55 am, reaching Kathmandu at 8:35 am the same day.

On the launch of the new route, Himalaya Airlines described it as a “historic” service that “represents a significant step forward in Nepal-China bilateral relations and people-to-people connectivity.” 

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Similarly, a Shenzhen airport representative was quoted in a statement as saying that the new flight fills in a gap for flights between Shenzhen and Nepal, further improving the aviation hub’s network of South Asian flights. 

“I plan to visit Hebei and Guangdong and I want to see Chinese history and culture, as well as Chinese food,” Nepali visitor Naida Wani, who was on board the first flight from Nepal to Shenzhen, said to Shenzhen Economic Daily. “This direct flight route is extremely convenient and I love it.”

According to He Jiaojiao, a tour guide with Guangdong Tiantian Holiday International Travel Service, the number of Nepal-related queries that her travel agency has received has increased noticeably since the announcement of the new service. Her agency organised four tour groups that consisted of roughly 100 people during the inaugural flight to Nepal. 

Shenzhen Economic Daily notes that the service is the second new international route launched by Shenzhen’s airport this year, after a connection with Uzbekistan.