Oman’s low-cost carrier Salam Air, on Tuesday, started direct flights on Muscat-Kathmandu sector. This international expansion of Salam Air will be locally handled by IME International Travel, a travel subsidiary of IME Group.

The carrier possesses five aircraft, all 174-seater Airbus 320, which fly to 15 destinations including Muscat, Salalah, Suhar, Dubai, Doha, Jeddah, Karachi, Multan, Sialkot, Shiraz, Tbilisi, Baku, as well as newly introduced destinations: Dhaka, Khartoum and Najaf.

Kathmandu is its 16th international destination and the direct flights between Kathmandu and Muscat will basically cater to Nepalis immigrants travelling to and from Muscat, Oman and onward to other countries in the Middle East and Asia at the most affordable prices, IME Group said in a press statement.

Salam will be operating four weekly flights and plans to launch daily flights soon. Salam will land in Kathmandu at 8:00 am and take off at 8:40 am. Chandra Prasad Dhakal, chairman of IME Group, said the newly launched flight will reduce the cost of foreign employment as the carrier is offering flight tickets at affordable prices. Salam Air has also recently launched its frequent flyer programme ‘more on air’ which allows passengers who fly over 10 times a year to submit their boarding passes collected within one year of travel and receive a free Salam Air ticket to any of its destinations. Salam Air passengers can avail a 25 percent discount on Chandragiri cable car tickets.