Nepal Airlines Corporation (NAC) will be resuming direct flights on the Kathmandu-Bangalore sector on Tuesday after a gap of almost a decade. Bangalore will be the national flag carrier’s second international point in India after Delhi. It will be connecting another Indian destination Mumbai from Saturday.

The carrier said that it would be operating two weekly flights to Bangalore on Tuesdays and Saturdays and plans to add a third service shortly. NAC will be the sole international carrier to connect the South Indian hub from Kathmandu. Bangalore has been an educational centre for Nepali students, particularly for medical and engineering studies.

The promotional fares for both the Indian cities could be extended based on demand.

Ram Hari Sharma, spokesperson of Nepal Airlines Corporation (NAC), said that they would be flying to Bangalore at 12:45 pm with 90 passengers on board. So far, 33 travellers have booked seats on the return flight. A return ticket on the sector costs Rs20,893 including taxes.

Meanwhile, the price of a return ticket on the Kathmandu-Mumbai sector has been set at Rs21,067 including taxes. Services on the Kathmandu-Mumbai sector will start on September 4 with two weekly flights on Mondays and Fridays.

NAC was forced to stop flying to Mumbai in 2005 and Bangalore in 2006 due to lack of aircraft.

The carrier used to fly to five Indian cities, namely Delhi, Mumbai, Bangalore, Patna and Kolkata. It resumed Kathmandu-Delhi services last February.

NAC has also launched a “buy two, get one free” offer on both these Indian sectors. The offer will be valid until September. Despite the offer, bookings on the Bangalore have been dismal.

Earthquake fear persists among Indian travellers to Nepal, as a result, flight bookings have been poor, NAC officials said. Indian arrivals to Nepal dropped sharply by 25 percent to 135,343 individuals in 2014.

Travel trade entrepreneurs attributed the fall in Indian arrivals to the closure of the casinos in Nepal and the unstable political situation.

They said that Indians had the option of visiting Southeast Asian destinations due to the cost factor. After the April 25 earthquake, the situation has become worse. “We don’t see many Indian tourists in Nepal after the earthquake,” said Sharma. However, he is hopeful that the Indian market will recover gradually.

The corporation has also planned to add the Kathmandu-Kolkata route to its network by November this year.