January 18: It has been almost one year since Nepal Airlines Corporation (NAC) started preparations for direct flights to Sydney, Australia via a transit through Singapore. The state-owned airline company has already prepared the flight schedule for Kathmandu-Singapore-Sydney flights with three flights a week. It is now waiting for the final approval to begin flights.

The NAC informed New Business Age that it has completed all the procedures for the flights and is waiting for permission from the Australian regulatory body, Civil Aviation Safety Authority (CASA). NAC Spokesperson Ramesh Paudel said that they had proposed direct flights from Kathmandu to Sydney International Airport via Singapore in March 2023.

“As soon as we receive flight permission from CASA, an Airbus-330 aircraft of Nepal Airlines will fly tto Sydney,” said Paudel.

Nepal and Australia had signed a bilateral air service agreement in October 2019. Even though it has been more than three years since the two countries signed the air service agreement, NAC is yet to begin flights to Australia.

Australian Ambassador to Nepal, Felicity Volk, told New Business Age that it will take another 7 to 12 months for the approval of direct flights between the two countries.

"The regulatory process for direct flights between Kathmandu and Sydney has progressed significantly," Volk said, "But the regulatory process may take another year due to discussions on flight safety between CASA and the Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal (CAAN)." Ambassador Volk said that the discussions in this regard are still ongoing.

In recent years, Australia has become a preferred destination for Nepali students to pursue higher education as well as for work and other visits. According to the data of the Department of Immigration, 105,343 people went to Australia from Nepal for various purpose in 2023. According to the data of Nepal Tourism Board, 38,799 Australian tourists arrived in Nepal in 2023. The data of the Nepal Tourism Board shows that the number of Australian tourists coming to Nepal has gradually increased.

The number of tourists arriving in Nepal from Australia and the number of people traveling to Australia from Nepal makes up a significant number. NAC has concluded that operating flights on this route is viable from market perspective.

Ambassador Volk said that the number of Australian tourists will increase if Nepal can be promoted and branded as a tourist destination.

She has already visited 38 districts of Nepal for various programs and said, “I am very active in promoting Nepali culture and tourism.”

She also pointed out that since Nepal is a beautiful country, it is possible to bring many Australian tourists.

She urged her countrymen to visit Nepal to experience the natural and spiritual beauty and other unique experiences in Nepal. Similarly, she said that Nepal should work on other segments of tourism such as culinary tourism (food related tourism), health meditation, yoga etc for which “publicity is necessary”.

"My suggestion to the government is that since Nepal is a country with potential for tourism, start a big promotional campaign," said Ambassador Volk.