Dragon Air to fly Kathmandu-Hong Kong from December

Kathmandu, Sept 14 (UNI) Dragon Air, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Cathay Pacific Airways, today said it will start direct flights between Kathmandu and Hong Kong from the first week of December in view of the increasing number of passengers travelling on this route.

''We will operate four flights a week, using an Airbus 320 aircraft,'' said Tom Wright general manager of Cathy Pacific's India office here.

''We see an immense potential in Nepal, as the country continues to grow more popular with travelers around the world,'' local media quoted him as saying while speaking at a press conference in Kathmandu.

He said Cathy Pacific and Dragon Air, which have a combined fleet of 152 aircraft, fly to 126 destinations, giving passengers easier connectivity to destinations beyond Hong Kong, using both the airlines' international network.

''We have reached an agreement with the Hong Kong Immigration Department under which Dragon Air passengers traveling to a number of countries via Hong Kong will not need transit visas,'' he added.

Mr Wright said that these countries include the United States, the United Kingdom, European Schengen states, Australia, New Zealand, Japan and South Korea among others.

Etihad Airlines, the national airline of the United Arab Emirates and Silk Air, a subsidiary of Singapore Airlines have already announced flights to Kathmandu from October this year while Orient Thai Airlines, a Thailand-based airline is preparing to link Kathmandu with Bangkok.

UNI