December 27: As the aviation sector, which has been worst hit by the Covid-19 pandemic, is returning back to normalcy, private airlines are taking the lead in expanding their fleet to fly to new destinations. Buddha Air, Yeti Airlines, Shree Air, and Guna Airlines are preparing to add new aircraft and operate flights to new destinations.

Domestic flights were shut down for several months due to the impact of Covid-19 causing heavy losses. According to a report of the Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal, domestic airlines have lost Rs 25 billion in revenue. However, as the coronavirus infection is declining, the aviation sector is gaining momentum.

Private sector airlines have put forward plans to bring in new aircraft. On December 25, Shree Airlines brought an additional plane.

The spokesperson of the company Anil Manandhar informed that the airlines will operate the new aircraft to Surkhet, Tumlingtar, and Bharatpur. He informed that the airlines has brought in a turboprop aircraft to Nepal on Saturday night, and another aircraft would arrive in January.

He said that the number of aircraft has increased with the demand in the market. Yeti Airlines is also planning to add four more aircraft within 2022.

Spokesperson of Yeti Airlines Sudarshan Bartaula informed that two aircraft will be brought within the next four to five months, and two more planes will be purchased within two years.

The airline is preparing to add four aircraft in 2022, mostly ATR. Of these, 2 are ATR-47 and 2 are ATR-72. Bartaula informed that the two planes in the first phase are ATR-47 and ATR-72. Yeti has five ATR with a capacity of 72 seats.

"With the addition of new planes, there are plans to expand our destinations," said Bartaula. "We will also expand our destinations to places where there are few flights." He said that after the arrival of the aircraft, there will be continuous flights to the new destinations.

He also said that there are plans to fly to new destinations in Surkhet and Dhangadhi. Yeti’s sister company Tara Air had 10 aircraft. However, Tara sold five aircraft to Guna Airlines.

The market share has also declined due to the decline in the number of aircraft, which occupy the second market share for domestic flights. Until the sale of the aircraft, the market share was 31 percent, but after the number of planes decreased, its market share dropped to 24 percent.