Nepal's national flag carrier NAC to re-enter China

Kathmandu: Nepal Airlines Corporation, the state-owned entity, is seeking a landing permit at Guangzhou international airport as it plans to re-enter China after nearly a decade.

The NAC, which has long been operating flights to Hong Kong, discontinued its air service on Kathmandu-Shanghai route in 2008 due to shortage of planes, Xinhua news agency reported.

With addition of two more planes over the last two years, the airlines now has planned to re-enter China, given the growing tourist arrivals from the northern neighbour in recent years.

China is the second largest source market for Nepali tourism after India.

"We are expecting the landing permit from Chinese authority in the next few weeks as we have got information that the process is in the final phase. Probably, we will be able to operate flight to Guangzhou from Kathmandu in the next two to three months," NAC Managing Director Sugat Ratna Kansakar said.

According to Kansakar, they found Guangzhou destination lucrative, given that most of Nepali traders import Chinese goods from there and they have been requesting for air service.

"It is also the destination for conducting many international connecting flights and there is also the prospect of more Chinese tourist arrivals from there," he said.