| |||||||
Founded | 2009 | ||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Hubs | Tribhuvan International Airport | ||||||
Secondary hubs | |||||||
Fleet size | 7 | ||||||
Destinations | 15 | ||||||
Parent company | Yeti Airlines | ||||||
Headquarters | Kathmandu, Nepal | ||||||
Key people | Ang Tshering Sherpa, Founder | ||||||
Website | www |
Tara Air Pvt. Ltd. is an airline headquartered in Kathmandu, Nepal. [3] It is a subsidiary of Yeti Airlines. Tara Air was formed in 2009 using aircraft from the Yeti Airlines fleet and is based at Tribhuvan International Airport, with a secondary hub at Nepalgunj Airport. The airline operates scheduled flights and air charter services with a fleet of STOL aircraft, previously provided by Yeti Airlines. Its operations focus on serving remote and mountainous airports and airstrips. [4]
Tara Air was formed in 2009 when Yeti Airlines split its STOL aircraft operations from its regional operations. [5] The airline's STOL operations were rebranded as Tara Air and focused on providing services into remote and mountainous airports and airstrips. [6]
The airline operates scheduled domestic flights to a number of destinations as well as offering air charter services. Tara Air operates daily scheduled flights between Kathmandu and Lukla, and between Jomsom and Pokhara. Other destinations are served at varying frequency. [2]
Destination | Airport | Notes | Refs. |
---|---|---|---|
Kathmandu | Tribhuvan International Airport | Hub | |
Nepalgunj | Nepalgunj Airport | Focus city | |
Pokhara | Pokhara Airport | Focus city | |
Bajhang | Bajhang Airport | Terminated | [7] |
Bajura | Bajura Airport | ||
Bhojpur | Bhojpur Airport | [8] | |
Birendranagar | Surkhet Airport | Terminated | [7] |
Bowang | Dhorpatan Airport | Terminated | [7] |
Diktel | Khanidanda Airport | ||
Dolpa | Dolpa Airport | ||
Jiri | Jiri Airport | Terminated | [7] |
Jomsom | Jomsom Airport | ||
Jumla | Jumla Airport | ||
Lukla | Tenzing-Hillary Airport | ||
Lamidanda | Lamidanda Airport | ||
Langtang | Langtang Airport | Terminated | [7] |
Manang | Manang Airport | Terminated | |
Manthali | Ramechhap Airport | [9] | |
Phaplu | Phaplu Airport | ||
Rara | Talcha Airport | ||
Rumjatar | Rumjatar Airport | ||
Rukum | Rukumkot Airport | Terminated | [7] |
Rukum | Rukum Salle Airport | Terminated | [7] |
Sanphebagar | Sanphebagar Airport | Terminated | |
Simikot | Simikot Airport | ||
Syangboche | Syangboche Airport | Terminated | |
Tara Air has a codeshare agreement with its mother company Yeti Airlines. [10]
Tara Air's fleet consists of the following aircraft (as of June 2022): [11] [12] [13] [ better source needed ]
Aircraft | In Fleet | Orders | Passengers | Notes | ||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
C | Y | Total | ||||
Dornier 228 | 2 | — | 0 | 19 | 19 | |
de Havilland Canada DHC-6-300 Twin Otter | 2 | — | 0 | 19 | 19 | |
Viking Air DHC-6-400 Twin Otter | 1 | — | 0 | 18 | 18 | |
Pilatus PC-6 Porter | 2 | — | 0 | 7 | 7 | |
Total | 7 | — |
Tara Air has been considered one of the "most unsafe airlines" due to several significant incidents. [13] [ better source needed ]
Nepal Airlines Corporation, formerly known as Royal Nepal Airlines, is the flag carrier of Nepal. Founded in 1958, it is the oldest airline of the country. Out of its main base at Tribhuvan International Airport, Kathmandu, the airline operates domestic services within Nepal and medium-haul services in Asia. The airline's first aircraft was a Douglas DC-3, used to serve domestic routes and a handful of destinations in India. The airline acquired its first jet aircraft, Boeing 727s, in 1972. As of February 2023, the airline operates a fleet of six aircraft. Since 2013, the airline has been on the list of air carriers banned in the European Union.
Yeti Airlines Pvt. Ltd. is an airline based in Kathmandu, Nepal. The airline was established in May 1998 and received its air operator's certificate on 17 August 1998. Since 2019, Yeti Airlines is the first carbon neutral airline in Nepal and South Asia. It is the parent company of Tara Air. As of 2022, Yeti Airlines was the second-largest domestic carrier in Nepal, after Buddha Air.
Tribhuvan International Airport is an international airport located in Kathmandu, Bagmati, Nepal. It has a tabletop runway, a domestic terminal and an international terminal. As the country's main international airport, it connects Nepal to over 40 destinations in 17 countries.
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Tenzing-Hillary Airport, also known as Lukla Airport, is a domestic airport and altiport in the town of Lukla, in Khumbu Pasanglhamu, Solukhumbu District, Koshi Province of Nepal. It gained worldwide fame as it was rated the most dangerous airport in the world for more than 20 years by a program titled Most Extreme Airports, broadcast on The History Channel in 2010.
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Biratnagar Airport is a domestic airport located in Biratnagar serving Morang District, Koshi Province, Nepal. Biratnagar Airport is the third busiest airport in Nepal after Kathmandu and Pokhara. There are plans to upgrade the airport to serve international flights very soon.
Jomsom Airport is a domestic airport located in Jomsom serving Mustang District, a district in Gandaki Province in Nepal. It serves as the gateway to Mustang District that includes Jomsom, Kagbeni, Tangbe, and Lo Manthang, and Muktinath temple, which is a popular pilgrimage for Nepalis and Indian pilgrims.
Jumla Airport is a domestic airport located in Jumla serving Jumla District, a district in Karnali Province in Nepal.
Surkhet Airport, also known as Birendranagar Airport is a domestic airport located in Birendranagar serving Surkhet District, a district in Karnali Province in Nepal. The Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal considers it an important hub for cargo transport into remote Western areas of Nepal, however this role is declining due to increasing road connectivity. Buddha Air has started daily flights to and from Kathmandu since 22 December, 2022 using its ATR-72 aircraft.
Yeti Airlines Flight 101 was a domestic flight in Nepal, that crashed on final approach to Tenzing-Hillary Airport in the town of Lukla in eastern Nepal on 8 October 2008. The De Havilland Canada DHC-6 Twin Otter Series 300 registered as 9N-AFE originated from Tribhuvan International Airport in Kathmandu.
Ramechhap Airport is a domestic airport serving the municipality of Manthali, the district headquarters of Ramechhap District located in the Tamakoshi River valley in Bagmati Province in Nepal. As of October 2022, most flights to Lukla Airport are operated from Ramechhap Airport.
Nepal Airlines Flight 555 was a short domestic scheduled flight from Pokhara Airport to Jomsom Airport in Nepal of about 20 minutes' flying time, operated by Nepal Airlines. On 16 May 2013 the de Havilland Canada DHC-6 Twin Otter aircraft operating the flight crashed while landing at Jomsom Airport. Seven of the twenty-one on board were seriously injured. There were no fatalities, but the aircraft was damaged beyond economic repair.
Nepal Airlines Flight 183 was a scheduled domestic passenger flight operated by a DHC-6 Twin Otter that on 16 February 2014 crashed into a hill near Dhikura, Nepal.
Summit Air, formerly known as Goma Air, is an airline based in Kathmandu, Nepal. The airline operates from short takeoff and landing airstrips in the Western parts of Nepal. The airline received the first of two Let 410 aircraft, financed by the Czech Republic Export Bank., in October 2014, and initially only used them on flights to Lukla and Jomsom.
Tara Air Flight 193 was a scheduled domestic passenger flight from Pokhara to Jomsom, Nepal. On 24 February 2016, eight minutes after take-off, the aircraft serving the flight, a Viking Air DHC-6-400 Twin Otter went missing with 23 people on board. Hours later, the wreckage was found near the village of Dana, Myagdi District. There were no survivors. It was Tara Air's deadliest accident.
On 21 June 2006, when approaching Jumla Airport, Nepal, a Yeti Airlines DHC-6 Twin Otter crashed into the ground after the crew decided to abort the landing and perform a go-around for an unknown reason. Eyewitnesses said that the plane appeared to have stalled while making a tight turn on the threshold of runway 27 and ploughed into the ground in a ball of fire on the eastern edge of the runway.
Pokhara International Airport is an international airport in Pokhara, Gandaki Province, Nepal. It is located 3 km (1.9 mi) east of the old domestic airport, which it will gradually replace. The airport is Nepal's third international airport and officially began operations on 1 January 2023, with STOL-operations to Jomsom still being operated from the old airport. The airport is expected to handle up to one million passengers per year, but as of 2024 there has not been any regular international flights.
Yashodhara Air is an upcoming Nepalese airline set up by Buddha Air aimed at serving STOL-services to remote airfields in Nepal from two bases, Ramechhap Airport and Pokhara Airport.
Tara Air Flight 197 was a scheduled domestic flight operated by Tara Air for parent company Yeti Airlines from Pokhara Airport to Jomsom Airport in Nepal. On 29 May 2022, the Twin Otter aircraft carrying 22 people departed at 09:55 NPT and lost contact with air traffic controllers about 12 minutes later at 10:07 (04:22). The wreckage was located 20 hours later on a mountainside. All 22 passengers and crew were killed, and all 22 bodies were recovered. This was Tara Air's second deadly accident on this route, after Flight 193 in 2016.
Media related to Tara Air at Wikimedia Commons