June 21: Six months after starting commercial flights, the Pokhara Regional International Airport (PRIA) witnessed first international flight on Wednesday.

Airport authorities and the excited locals gave a warm welcome to a chartered flight of Sichuan Airlines on Wednesday morning. The airport offered a water canon salute to the aircraft, a traditional sign of respect and honor for the first aircraft of international flight to descent at the airport.

The Chinese airline company has announced to start direct chartered flights to Pokhara.

According to Bikram Gautam, the head of the airport, the Airbus A-319 of Sichuan Airlines, which took off from Chendu’s Tianfu International Airport in China, landed at Pokhara International Airport at 9:30 am on Wednesday.

Minister for Culture, Tourism and Civil Aviation Minister Sudan Kirati said that he was excited to welcome the chartered flight from China to Pokhara International Airport. He expressed on social media that he was happy to hear that all the hotels in Pokhara were full of tourists.

A total of 135 passengers including a Nepali delegation led by the Chairman of the National Assembly Ganesh Prasad Timilsina and Chinese sportspersons and tourists, who will be attending the 'Nepal-China Friendship Dragon Boat Festival' at Phewa Lake in Pokhara next weekend, reportedly arrived in Pokhara in the aircraft.

The Sichuan Airlines aircraft was scheduled to fly to Kathmandu at noon.

The Pokhara Regional International Airport was inaugurated by Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal on January 1 this year. The airport was built with an investment of Rs 22 billion. On the opening day of the airport, Himalaya Airlines conducted a test flight. Since then, no international flight has taken place at the airport.