Himal Press 
SURKHET: An ATR-72 aircraft of Buddha Air successfully conducted a test flight at Surkhet Airport on Wednesday.
The domestic carrier successfully operated the test flight in cooperation with the Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal (CAAN).
Civil Aviation Office, Surkhet, has said that the aviation regulator would permit the airline to operate bigger aircraft at the airport after the report of the test flight is submitted.
Buddha Air is currently operating flights using ATR-42 aircraft at Surkhet Airport. It plans to operate ATR-72 aircraft on Kathmandu-Surkhet-Kathmandu route. It has said the airfare will come down once it starts using bigger aircraft. According to the airline, ticket prices will start from Rs 7,500.
Earlier, Shree Airlines successfully operated a test flight using a 72-seater CRJ-700 aircraft at the airport. Though it has already submitted its test flight report, it has not begun operating flights using CRJ-700 aircraft yet.
Surkhet Airport recently expanded its runway by 300 meters to facilitate flight operation by ATR-72, CRJ-700 and other similar aircraft.
