Turkish announces KTM-Istanbul flight
KATHMANDU, MAY 19 -
Turkish Airlines, the world’s fourth biggest carrier in terms of destinations, on Saturday officially announced direct Kathmandu-Istanbul flights.
It will be flying four weekly flights — Sunday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday — on the route from September 1. The carrier will use its wide-body Airbus A330-200 aircraft on the sector. The Kathmandu-Istanbul flight will be the longest non-stop commercial flight — seven and half hours — from Nepal to Europe.
After Austrian Airlines discontinued its service to Nepal on May 17, 2007, there was no scheduled direct flight from Kathmandu to Europe. Currently, Dutch airline ArkeFly serves charter service from Amsterdam to Kathmandu.
“As per our goal to become the world’s largest airline network, it’s an opportunity for us to connect Nepal with Europe,” said Adnan Aykac, general manager of Turkish Airlines for Northern and Eastern India. “We have targeted 95 percent transit passengers for Europe and the United States from Nepal.”
The carrier currently serves 223 destinations in 99 countries and plans to add 30 more destinations by 2013. “Our focus on Nepal will be bringing high-end tourists with better and affordable airfares,” said Aykac.
Nepal and Turkey signed an air service agreement (ASA) in September 2010. The ASA allows the two countries to operate 14 flights per week between Kathmandu and Istanbul.
The carrier has appointed Zenith Travels as general sales agent (GSA) in Nepal. “It is great news not only for the tourism industry, but also for trade between Nepal and Europe,” said Joy Dewan, group managing director of Zenith Travels.
The government statistics show Nepal’s growing trade with Turkey. In the first nine months of the current fiscal year, exports to Turkey grew by 188.2 percent. Traditional handicrafts, yarns and fabrics and woollen carpets are among the major exports to the country. The government has also initiated the process to sign a bilateral trade agreement with Turkey.
Source: The Kathmandu Post
