Gorkha Airlines
IATA ICAO Callsign
G1 IKA GORKHA AIRLINES
Founded1996
HubsTribhuvan International Airport
Secondary hubsPokhara Airport
Fleet size2
Destinations10
HeadquartersKathmandu
Websitehttp://www.gorkhaairlines.com
Gorkha Airlines Dornier 228, Pokhara, 2000

Gorkha Airlines Pvt. Ltd. was an airline based in Kathmandu, Nepal. It operated scheduled and charter flights to domestic destinations, as well as daily mountain flights in the Himalayas. Its main base was Tribhuvan International Airport in Kathmandu.[1] The company slogan was Fly With Us The Gallant Way.

History

Gorkha Airlines Dornier 228 at Lukla Airport

The airline was established in 1996 and started operations on 8 July 1996. It began operations with two Mil Mi-17 helicopters and moved on to scheduled flights using fixed-wing aircraft.[2] In 1998, the airline took over two Dornier 228s, which the airline used exclusively after discontinuing helicopter operations in 2005.[3] The airline ceased to operate in 2008.[4]

In 2017, Gorkha Airlines received the approval from Civil Aviation Ministry to reoperate the Airline. It planned to operate two ERJ twin-engine regional jets produced by Embraer, and two Dornier aircraft on domestic routes.[5] However, by 2020, this did not happen.

Destinations

Gorkha Airlines regularly served the following destinations, which were cancelled either at the closure of operations or before:[6]

City Airport Notes Refs
BhairahawaGautam Buddha Airport
BharatpurBharatpur Airport
BiratnagarBiratnagar Airport
JanakpurJanakpur Airport
JomsomJomsom Airport
KathmanduTribhuvan International AirportHub
LuklaTenzing–Hillary Airport
PokharaPokhara Airport
TumlingtarTumlingtar Airport
Pipara SimaraSimara Airport

Gorkha Airlines also operated scheduled mountain sightseeing flights from Kathmandu to Mount Everest range. The flights usually departed in the early morning hours and return to the airport one hour later.[6]

Fleet

At the time of closure, Gorkha Airlines operated the following aircraft:[2]

Gorkha Airlines Fleet
AircraftIn fleetNotes
Dornier 228-2122

Former fleet

Gorkha Airlines Historical Fleet
Aircraft In service Exit from service Notes
Mil Mi-17 1996 2005 [7]

Accidents and incidents

  • On 30 June 2005, a Dornier 228 (9N-ACV) aircraft carrying nine passengers and three crew members en route from Kathmandu skidded off the runway while attempting to land at Lukla Airport. The passengers suffered only minor injuries, however, after the accident, the aircraft was withdrawn from service and written off.[8][9]

References

  1. ↑ "Gorkha Airline". Archived from the original on 2011-02-08. Retrieved 2010-10-15.
  2. 1 2 Flight International 3 April 2007
  3. ↑ JP airline-fleets international, edition 2005/06
  4. ↑ JP airline-fleets international, editions 2008/09 and 2009/10
  5. ↑ "Gorkha and Dynamic to return to skies". The Kathmandu Post. Retrieved 10 October 2017.
  6. 1 2 "Destinations". Gorkha Airlines. Archived from the original on March 28, 2010. Retrieved 8 June 2010.
  7. ↑ JP airline-fleets international, Edition 2005/06
  8. ↑ Airline Industry Information Archived 2016-01-13 at the Wayback Machine 30 June 2005
  9. ↑ Aviation Safety Network Archived 2007-09-29 at the Wayback Machine retrieved 18 November 2006
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