After a 86-day wait, start-up Saurya Airlines has finally been issued the Air Operator Certificate (AOC). The Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal (Caan) issued the permit on Thursday. On August 18, Saurya brought a 50-seater Bombardier Canada Regional Jet (CRJ-200) to serve long-haul domestic routes.

It had originally planned to conduct regular flights from the first week of September, but was forced to keep its new plane grounded due to lengthy paperwork. The airline plans to conduct flights between Kathmandu and Dhangadhi, Biratnagar, Nepalgunj, Bhairahawa and Bhadrapur besides chartered and mountain view flights.