February 23: Pokhara Regional International Airport, the third largest international airport in the country, will be launching night flights from Thursday. 

According to Spokesperson Jagannath Niraula of the Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal (CAAN) to date, flights to and from the Pokhara airport are available from 6:00 am to 4:00 pm and the night flight will be commencing from Thursday night. 

With the implementation of the  Instrument Flight Rules system by the airport, it is able to operate night flights. Niraula said the airport will operate 18 hours in a day: from 6:00 am till midnight.

The regional international airport has been in operation since January 1, 2023. Earlier, the flight operation system was assisted by the Visual Flight Rules system.

But the airport has switched to an IFR system under which an aircraft is operated under instrument meteorological conditions (IMC), making night flights possible. 

Private airlines service provider Buddha Air is preparing to launch the night flight at the airport. Buddha Air Spokesperson Dipendra Karna said they are preparing for operating Pokhara-Kathmandu and Kathmandu-Pokhara night flight from Thursday. ---RSS