Dubai-based carrier flydubai has launched daily non-stop flights between Dubai International Airport (DXB) and Pokhara International Airport (PHH), establishing the first direct air link between Dubai and Western Nepal, the airline said in a statement.

The inaugural flight departed from Terminal 3 at DXB on 23 September, and upon arrival in Pokhara, a ceremonial water cannon salute greeted it. Pokhara becomes Nepal's third airport with scheduled international connectivity and flydubai's second destination in the country after Kathmandu.

The route gives travellers direct access to Pokhara, Nepal's adventure tourism hub and principal gateway to the Annapurna Mountain range, without the need for multiple transfers or long road journeys from Kathmandu. The new service takes flydubai's total weekly flights to Nepal to 35, alongside its four daily flights to Kathmandu, where the airline has carried more than 4.5 million passengers since 2009, with 65 percent of that traffic connecting onward via Dubai.

With the Pokhara launch, flydubai says it now operates the widest network between Dubai and South Asia, serving 20 destinations across Afghanistan, Bangladesh, India, the Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka, with more than 380 weekly flights to the region.

Sudhir Sreedharan, Divisional Senior Vice President of Commercial Operations at flydubai, said Nepal had "long been an integral part of flydubai's network," noting that since launching operations to Kathmandu 17 years ago, the airline's objective had been to offer a direct link between the UAE and Nepal. He said the Pokhara route would strengthen that commitment by giving travellers "a seamless, non-stop connection" to the country's tourism capital.

"Our expansion into Pokhara will cater to the growing demand for direct and convenient access to Western Nepal," Sreedharan said, adding that the direct connection would make journeys "simpler, more comfortable and more accessible" for customers. He also thanked local authorities for their welcome.

The new service operates under flydubai's codeshare partnership with Emirates, giving passengers travelling to and from Pokhara onward access to more than 140 destinations across Asia, Europe and the Americas via Dubai, with single-ticket booking and through-checked baggage. Popular onward connections from Nepal include Bucharest, Dammam, Jeddah, Muscat and Riyadh, while Larnaca, Lisbon, London, New York and Vienna are among the top feeder markets from the Emirates network.

Flights to Pokhara operate daily from Terminal 3, DXB, with flight FZ 1165 departing Dubai at 12:00 and arriving in Pokhara at 18:15, and the return flight FZ 1166 departing Pokhara at 19:15 and arriving in Dubai at 22:00 (all times local). Return Business Class fares from Dubai start at AED 5,400 and Economy fares from AED 1,950; from Pokhara, Business Class fares start at NPR 135,000 and Economy fares from NPR 80,500.

flydubai currently operates a single fleet type of 98 Boeing 737 aircraft — comprising 25 Next-Generation 737-800s, 69 737 MAX 8s and four 737 MAX 9s — serving more than 125 destinations in 56 countries. The airline has carried more than 137 million passengers since beginning operations in June 2009.

Source: PR