Kathmandu: Nepal Airlines Corporation (NAC) has cancelled its scheduled flight to Guangzhou, China, on October 19.
The airline had planned to operate the flight using a 158-seat narrow-body aircraft, but the flight was cancelled after no passengers booked tickets, according to Nepal Airlines spokesperson Manoj Sah.
He said the decision to suspend the flight was made because of a lack of passengers during the Dashain and Tihar festive season. For now, this is the only China-bound flight that has been suspended. The flights scheduled for October 16 (Asoj 30) and October 23 (Kartik 6) will operate as planned, he added.
Sah said the marketing department had informed management that there were no passengers for the October 19 flight, and it was not feasible to fly an empty aircraft. The return flight from Guangzhou on Kartik 3 (October 20) also had very few passengers, prompting the suspension.
As of October 13 (one week before the scheduled flight), only one passenger had booked a ticket to Guangzhou and eight passengers for the return flight, leading to the decision to cancel.
Although the airline had initially planned to begin Guangzhou flights from Asoj 9 (September 25), the launch was delayed until September 27 (Asoj 11) due to last-minute schedule changes.
Despite being the first direct Kathmandu–Guangzhou flight operated by Nepal’s national flag carrier, the route has not attracted as many passengers as expected.
Nepal Airlines had scheduled three weekly flights between Kathmandu and Guangzhou but received approval for only five flights in the first phase.
Accordingly, flights were conducted on September 27 and 28, with another scheduled for October 16. Only the October 19 (Kartik 2) flight has been suspended, while the October 23 (Kartik 6) flight will operate as planned, the corporation confirmed.
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