With the latest political development in the country and the country moving towards peace and stability, there is rise of international airlines operating in Nepal.

Korean Air began its scheduled operations from Monday and became the third international airline to start flying to Kathmandu within a month.

The 301-seater Boeing 777 aircraft of Korean Air landed at Tribhuvan International Air (TIA) at 2.30 p.m. carrying 261 passengers and senior officials of the airline and left for Seoul at 5.55 p.m. with 126 passengers.

Korean Air is the third international airline to launch its scheduled operations to Kathmandu after GMG Bangladesh and Air Arabia of UAE.

The airline will be operating Seoul-Kathmandu-Seoul flights once a week on Monday, using wide-bodied Boeing 777 aircraft.

Mohan Adhikari, director general at Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal (CAAN), termed the start of Korean Air’s operation as a ‘historic moment’ for the Nepali aviation sector, which would boost the economies of the two countries and strengthen people-to-people ties.

Chul Hahm, managing vice-president of Korean Air informed that the initial plan of the airline was to operate chartered flights between Seoul and Kathmandu.