Kathmandu, June 5: The Himalaya Airlines, Nepal’s international airline, has started direct scheduled flight service between Tribhuvan International Airport (TIA), Kathmandu, and Shenzhen Bao’an International Airport (SZX), Shenzhen on June 4, 2026.
With the inaugural flight, Himalaya Airlines has become the first and only commercial carrier in the history of civil aviation to operate a direct scheduled flight on the Kathmandu–Shenzhen–Kathmandu sector. The operation establishes a new and strategically significant air corridor between Nepal and one of China’s most dynamic economic and technological centres.
Himalaya Airlines is operating Airbus A320 aircraft with 180 seat capacity on the route, the Himalaya Airlines stated in a press release today.
Himalaya made the historic take off for Shenzhen with flight number (H9 985) at 09:59 PM (Nepali local time) with 98 passengers on board, which landed in Shenzhen at 04:17 AM (Chinese local time) on June 5.
Similarly, the Shenzhen-Kathmandu flight (H9 986), took off from Shenzhen Bao’an International Airport at 06:12AM (Chinese local time) with 157 passengers onboard on June 5, 2026, and landed in Tribhuvan International Airport at 08:26AM (Nepali local time) on the same day.
Shenzhen, widely regarded as China’s Silicon Valley and officially recognised as the country’s first Special Economic Zone, is a global hub for technology, manufacturing, finance, and innovation. Known as the Future City, Shenzhen is home to leading technology corporations and a rapidly growing base of outbound travellers and business professionals. The establishment of a direct air connection between Kathmandu and Shenzhen represents a significant step forward in Nepal–China bilateral relations and people-to-people connectivity.
Himalaya Airlines is initially operating two weekly frequencies on the Kathmandu–Shenzhen–Kathmandu sector. Outbound flights from Kathmandu are departing every Tuesday and Thursday, with return flights from Shenzhen operating every Wednesday and Friday, the Airlines said.
