Nepal and Switzerland on Tuesday signed an air service agreement (ASA) in Kathmandu opening the way for the operation of commercial air services between the two countries.

The agreement allows Swiss carriers to operate 28 weekly flights on a reciprocal basis.

The pact permits unrestricted cargo movement between the two countries besides third country code share arrangement, said Mukesh Dangol, an official at the Tourism Ministry.

A code-share agreement is an arrangement under which two or more airlines share the same flight. A seat can be purchased from one airline on a flight that is operated by another airline under a different flight number or code.

It provides travellers with coordinated customer service—a single ticket and through check-in of bags to their final destinations. The agreement is a low-risk way for airlines to expand their network without added cost.

According to Dangol, Nepal has designated Swiss International Air Lines, Switzerland's national airline and Edelweiss Air, while Switzerland has designated Nepal Airlines and Himalaya Airlines from Nepal, to fly into the respective countries, subject to the approval of the respective governments.

With this, Nepal has concluded air accords with 43 countries—42 bilateral air service agreements, and one multilateral agreement with the European Union—since 1963.

The last bilateral air service agreement was signed with Rwanda in December 2023.