Tara Air has successfully completed the first commercial flight to Lukla with its new Viking 400 Twin-Otter Aircraft ‘9N-ALO’. The aircraft which landed TIA in the evening of July 20, 2018 conducted the first Certificate of Airworthiness (C of A) Test flight from Kathmandu on 7th August, 2018.
The additional aircraft will be serving existing remote STOL destinations such as Lukla, Phaplu, Jomsom, Dolpa and Simikot, among others. The additional aircraft will certainly play a vital role in transporting foreign trekkers, local people and food to remote regions, the company added.
The short take-off and landing (STOL) aircraft boast cutting-edge avionics technology with an integrated full glass cockpit that features the enhanced ground proximity warning system, traffic collision avoidance system and full colour weather radar.
Tara Air intends to gradually replace its entire fleet with the Viking series aircraft. Established in 1998, Tara Air, the flagship of Yeti Airlines, has got the identity as biggest airline service provider in the Nepalese mountains.
The company landed in aviation with the mission of helping develop the rural Nepal, and has concentrated service in the hills and mountains of the country from the Far East to the Far West and currently operates a fleet of STOL aircrafts, comprising of Twin Otter (DHC 6-300/6-400) and Dornier (DO 228) aircraft.
