flydubai, second Dubai-based carrier, has announced the launch of a new daily service to Pokhara International Airport (PHH), making it its second destination in Nepal. The nonstop flights will begin on September 23, 2026, operating from Terminal 3 at Dubai International Airport (DXB).
With the addition of daily flights to Pokhara, Nepal’s second-largest city and tourism capital, flydubai becomes the first airline to offer direct service on the route from the United Arab Emirates. It will also be the first international regular service to the Nepalese city as the airport experienced until now only limited chartered international services, such as Sichuan Airlines from China in 2023 and Himalaya Airlines from Lhasa in 2025.
The launch represents a significant expansion of flydubai’s presence in Nepal, where it has operated since 2009 and transported approximately four million passengers.
“Nepal has remained an exceptionally important market for flydubai since we first launched operations to Kathmandu in 2009, and introducing direct flights to Pokhara underscores our ongoing commitment to supporting the free flow of trade and tourism between the UAE and Nepal,” said Ghaith Al Ghaith, Chief Executive Officer at flydubai.
“By providing a direct link to Nepal’s second-largest city and another gateway to the market, we are proud to leverage Dubai’s position as a world-class aviation hub to open new avenues of accessibility for both business and leisure travelers,” he added.
Over the past 17 years, flydubai has steadily expanded its operations in Nepal to meet strong demand. The airline’s seat capacity to the country has grown more than twelvefold since launch, with as many as five daily flights to Kathmandu during peak periods to serve business, leisure, and visiting friends and relatives traffic.
Pokhara, center of Himalayan adventure tourism
Sudhir Sreedharan, Divisional Senior Vice President of Commercial Operations at flydubai, noted that the service is well positioned to meet demand from the UAE and passengers connecting from the GCC, the Middle East, Europe, and beyond through flydubai’s codeshare and interline partnerships.
Nestled near the Annapurna mountain range, Pokhara is widely regarded as Nepal’s premier adventure and leisure destination. The new daily flights are expected to benefit western Nepal by complementing existing services to Kathmandu while giving international visitors direct access to the region’s trekking, eco-tourism, and economic opportunities.
Pokhara welcomed an estimated 600,000 to 700,000 tourists in 2025, capturing a major share of the 1.15 million international visitors who traveled to Nepal.
The service will be operated under the flydubai and Emirates codeshare partnership, allowing passengers to enjoy seamless itineraries with a single ticket, through-checked baggage, and access to the combined networks of both airlines.
Flights will operate daily between Dubai International Airport (DXB) and Pokhara International Airport (PHH).
