Yashodhara Air is an upcoming
Nepal
Nepal (; ne, नेपाल ), formerly the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal ( ne,
सङ्घीय लोकतान्त्रिक गणतन्त्र नेपाल ), is a landlocked country in South Asia. It is mai ...
ese airline set up by
Buddha Air
Buddha Air Pvt. Ltd ( ne, बुद्ध एयर) is an airline based in Jawalakhel, Lalitpur, Nepal, near Patan. It operates domestic as well as international services within Nepal and India, serving mainly large towns and cities in Nep ...
aimed at serving
STOL
A short takeoff and landing (STOL) aircraft is a conventional fixed-wing aircraft that has short runway requirements for takeoff and landing. Many STOL-designed aircraft also feature various arrangements for use on airstrips with harsh conditio ...
-services to remote airfields in Nepal from two bases,
Ramechhap Airport
Ramechhap Airport is a domestic airport serving the municipality of Manthali, the district headquarters of Ramechhap District located in the Tamakoshi River valley in Bagmati Province in Nepal. As of October 2022, most flights to Lukla Airpor ...
and
Pokhara Airport
Pokhara Airport is a domestic airport serving Pokhara in Nepal. Following a new agreement on air travel between India and Nepal, Pokhara Airport will be replaced by Nepal's third international airport, Pokhara International Airport in 2023 ...
.
History
In 2020, Buddha Air announced first plans to enter the rural aviation market in Nepal by serving smaller
STOL
A short takeoff and landing (STOL) aircraft is a conventional fixed-wing aircraft that has short runway requirements for takeoff and landing. Many STOL-designed aircraft also feature various arrangements for use on airstrips with harsh conditio ...
-airfields by Fall 2021. Consequently, Yashodhara Air was set up in January 2021 with the aim of operating by 2022. In November 2021, during
Dubai Airshow 2021 the airline the airline announced plans to launch in early 2023.
The airline's name derives from
Yashodhara, the wife of
Gautama Buddha
Siddhartha Gautama, most commonly referred to as the Buddha, was a wandering ascetic and religious teacher who lived in South Asia during the 6th or 5th century BCE and founded Buddhism.
According to Buddhist tradition, he was born in Lu ...
after which the parent company Buddha Air is named.
Destinations
The airline is supposed to operate to remote airfields from two bases at
Ramechhap Airport
Ramechhap Airport is a domestic airport serving the municipality of Manthali, the district headquarters of Ramechhap District located in the Tamakoshi River valley in Bagmati Province in Nepal. As of October 2022, most flights to Lukla Airpor ...
and
Pokhara Airport
Pokhara Airport is a domestic airport serving Pokhara in Nepal. Following a new agreement on air travel between India and Nepal, Pokhara Airport will be replaced by Nepal's third international airport, Pokhara International Airport in 2023 ...
.
Fleet
The airline is mulling over using different aircraft types including
Viking Air DHC-6 Twin Otter,
Let L-410
The Let L-410 Turbolet is a twin-engine short-range transport aircraft, manufactured by the Czech aircraft manufacturer Let Kunovice (named Aircraft Industries since 2005), often used as an airliner. The aircraft is capable of landing on short an ...
and
Cessna 408.
In November 2021, during
Dubai Airshow 2021 the airline decided to purchase four
Viking Air
Viking Air Ltd. is a manufacturer of aircraft, as well as aircraft parts and systems, based at Victoria International Airport in North Saanich, British Columbia, Canada. The company produces new versions of the DHC-6 Twin Otter, upgraded versi ...
Twin Otters.
References
External links
Airlines of Nepal
Airlines established in 2020
2020 establishments in Nepal
Airlines banned in the European Union
{{Asia-airline-stub