KATHMANDU: The domestic airlines, which were permitted to resume flight services with full occupancy from Monday, are recording an occupancy rate of up to 90 percent after around six months of the lockdown and prohibition order.
Buddha Air, which resumed 18 flights since Monday, shared that it has 90 percent occupancy in its flights. It has been operating daily flights regularly to 13 destinations. The airline’s Spokesperson Rupesh Joshi said that the passenger pressure has been increasing daily. According to him, it provided its service to 1,684 passengers on
Monday, 1,420 on Tuesday, 1,731 on Wednesday and 1,700 till Thursday noon.
Joshi said, “We have opened bookings for 1,800 seats per day. Based on the last three days’ passenger pressure, the occupancy rate of our flights is from 80 to 96 percent.” He further added that the rate is above 80 percent in all destinations. According to him, all the tickets for Tumlingtar have been booked for the festival.
Yeti Airlines also shared that passenger demand and seat occupancy have been significant during the three-day period after flights resumed operations. The airline that operates 10 flights daily served 900 passengers on Monday, 731 on Tuesday and 867 on Wednesday, said the airlines’ Spokesperson Sudarshan Bartaula. The airline has also been receiving demand for advance bookings for Dashain, he informed.
Likewise, Sita Air, which also resumed regular flights from Kathmandu and Nepalgunj from Monday, witnessed 100 percent occupancy. Among the four aircraft that it has in its fleet, the airline operated three 18-seat Dornier aircraft from Monday. As per the company, due to the adverse weather it was operating only two flights a week from Kathmandu to destinations including Taplejung, Lukla, Simikot and Dolpa and daily flights from Nepalgunj to Simkot, Jumla, Bajura, Dolpa and Rara.
Shree Airlines, which started two daily flights to Nepalgunj and Dhangadhi from Tuesday, has also observed 90 percent occupancy.