Launch of Buddha Air's Kolkata-Kathmandu flight delayed till May 27

Lok Sabha elections have delayed the launch by over a month

The ongoing Lok Sabha elections has delayed the launch of Nepal's private airline Buddha Air's proposed flight between Kolkata and Kathmandu by over a month.

The airline will now begin its operation from May 27 instead of its earlier plan to start from April 16, Buddha Air's Marketing Director Rupesh Joshi said.

"We will operate three weekly flights between Kathmandu and Kolkata on Monday, Wednesday and Friday from May 27," he said.

"Both the India government and all agencies involved with aviation business suggested to begin the service post election. So we decided to defer it," he said.

Buddha Air would be the second Nepali Airline to connect Kolkata with Kathmandu after the Royal Nepal Airlines' withdrawal from Kolkata two decades back, Joshi said.

The Royal Nepal Airlines now operates flights from Delhi, Mumbai and Bangalore to Kathmandu, he said.

Joshi said grounding of Jet Airways will affect tourism in Nepal and a large number of booking for hotels and tour operators have been cancelled.

He said Jet was the key airline to bring foreign tourists to the Himalayan country.

Now, return fare from Indian destinations from Nepal had soared four times the normal rate owing to grounding of the Jet Airways.