In a major boost to travel and tourism, Turkish Airlines announced this week that it will be linking Kathmandu directly to Istanbul and beyond from September.
This will be the only direct flight to Europe from Kathmandu, and marks the return of major international carriers to Nepal after Lufthansa, Austrian Airlines and Transavia discontinued services in the past 15 years.
“This is good for Nepal’s connectivity to the world because Turkish Airlines can now link Kathmandu with 250 destinations worldwide from our Istanbul hub,” said regional General Manager, Adnan Aykac. “We will be the brand ambassador for Nepal’s tourism.”
Turkish will start with four flights a week with departures from Kathmandu at 8:45 AM on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Sundays with the widebody Airbus 330-300 aircraft. The flight will arrive in Istanbul at 1:40pm and passengers can connect to flights to North America, Europe and Africa.
“As the only European carrier operating to and from Kathmandu, we will have the advantage with the added benefits of our huge network,” said Adnan Aykac.