September 10: Royal Bhutan Airlines, Drukair, operated its first commercial flight to Pokhara Regional International Airport on Saturday.

The flight, with crew members and three passengers, from Paro International Airport, Thimphu, landed at Pokhara at 6:40 AM.

The same aircraft departed from Pokhara at 8:15 PM, carrying 42 passengers, and returned to Thimphu.

This is the first international commercial flight to operate at Pokhara International Airport in eight months. The airport was inaugurated on January 1st, the first day of the English New Year.

Various government officials from Gandaki Province, including Industry, Tourism, Forest, and Environment Minister Dipendra Bahadur Thapa, Pokhara Metropolitan City Mayor Dhanraj Acharya, and Chairman of the Pokhara Tourism Council, Pomanarayan Shrestha, bid farewell to the passengers.

Devchandra Lal Karna, the Chief of Pokhara International Airport, said that the airport had earned revenue from international flights for the first time.

He said, "This is Pokhara's first commercial flight. We call it a revenue flight, a charter flight. We worked hard for this, the flight was possible after we committed to providing good facilities,” Karna said.

American tourists who came to visit India, Nepal, and Bhutan chartered Drukair to reach Thimphu. The flight was chartered through an Indian agency. They stayed in Pokhara for three days, engaging in various activities such as paragliding.

They arrived in Pokhara via helicopter from Kathmandu.

Despite the operation of Pokhara International Airport, there are currently no regular international flights, and the airport's international operations are limited.