Nepal Airlines has begun preparations to operate services to Australia, four years after signing an air service agreement. The national flag carrier plans to fly twice weekly to Sydney using Airbus A330 aircraft following approval from the Australian government.

“We are currently busy making the necessary preparations to fly to Sydney,” said Ganesh Kumar Ghimire, deputy spokesperson for Nepal Airlines.

On April 20, the state-owned carrier invited quotations to provide ground handling and associated services at Sydney Kingsford Smith Airport. Interested firms have until May 4 to submit their proposals.

Nepal Airlines will fly to Sydney on Tuesdays and Fridays with a stopover in Singapore. A fifth freedom right allows the airline to pick up or drop off passengers in Singapore when flying either way. Sydney is the largest city in Australia and has a large Nepali population.

“We are currently working on the documents dealing with ground handling, appointment of general sales agents, safety assessment and other matters required to obtain operating authorisation from Australian authorities,” said Ghimire.

“There is no deadline for the operation or proposed agreement with Australian authorities, but we are at an advanced stage.”

Mukesh Dangol, an official at the civil aviation ministry, said they had designated two weekly flights for Nepal Airlines to Sydney and sent the information to the Australian government through the foreign ministry last month.

“The Nepali Embassy in Australia designated Nepal Airlines for Kathmandu-Sydney flight to the Australian government,” Nepali Ambassador to Australia Kailash Raj Pokharel tweeted on March 25. “Now, Nepal Airlines will begin the technical process with the Australian authority.”

In October 2019, Nepal and Australia signed an air service agreement in Montreal, Canada opening the way for the operation of commercial air services between the two countries.

The Australian government has permitted seven weekly flights from Nepal to key cities like Sydney, Melbourne, Canberra and Perth, and unlimited flights to other destinations in Australia.

The agreement allows Australian carriers to operate seven flights weekly to Kathmandu's Tribhuvan International Airport, and another 28 weekly services to Bhairahawa and Pokhara.

The pact permits unrestricted cargo movement between the two countries besides third-country code share with a provision for domestic code share.

The agreement has also allowed fifth freedom traffic rights. Under this arrangement, the designated airlines of Nepal may exercise fifth freedom traffic rights at any two intermediate points in Southeast Asia, South Asia and the Middle East; and beyond Australia to any two points in New Zealand.

Similarly, the designated airlines of Australia may exercise fifth freedom traffic rights at any two intermediate points in Southeast Asia, South Asia and the Middle East; and any two points beyond Nepal except New Delhi in India.

According to the Australian Bureau of Statistics, 129,870 Nepalese-born people were living in Australia at the end of June 2021, almost five times the number (27,810) in June 2011.

Australia is the most favoured destination for Nepali students. According to the Ministry of Education, over 60 percent of the 121,000 students who acquired No Objection Certificates in 2022 were headed down under.

In 2019 before the Covid-19 pandemic, Nepal received 38,972 Australian tourists.

Nepali officials say that Kathmandu is currently Sydney’s largest unserved market, with over 100,000 people travelling between Nepal’s capital and Australia's largest city annually.

The distance between Sydney and Kathmandu is 5,253 nautical miles or 9,728 kilometres.

Six years ago, Nepal Airlines purchased two 274-seater Airbus A330 aircraft from United States-based AAR Corp for $209.6 million, the largest-ever aircraft purchase deal in Nepal’s aviation history.

The first of the two wide-body aircraft—Annapurna—arrived at Tribhuvan International Airport in June 2018. The second named, Makalu, arrived a month later.

After purchasing the two wide-body planes, the national flag carrier announced resuming flights to Japan and London, besides launching services to Sydney, Seoul and Guangzhou, China.

On August 29, 2019, the airline resumed flights to Osaka, Japan after 12 years. The service was later switched to Narita.

The carrier then applied for landing permission at Guangzhou Baiyun International Airport and Seoul, but it never got approval.

During its heyday, Nepal Airlines used to fly to Amsterdam, Colombo, Dhaka, Frankfurt, Karachi, London, Osaka, Shanghai and Singapore besides five Indian cities—Bangalore, Delhi, Kolkata, Mumbai and Patna.

It presently connects Kathmandu with Doha, Kuala Lumpur, Hong Kong, Bangkok, Dubai, Riyadh, Narita and three cities in India—Delhi, Bangalore and Mumbai.