Since 1946, Nepal has suffered 42 fatal plane crashes, with eight air disasters killing more than 100 people in the three years between 2022 and 2025 alone. Many of the planes in Nepal have fallen prey to bird strikes as well.  The European Union banned all 20 Nepali airlines from its airspace on December 5, 2013 — a ban that remains fully in force as of the EU Air Safety List update of December 13, 2024. Against such a backdrop, one has to wonder how old planes in Nepal are anyway.
Nepal Airlines Has A 41-Year-Old Twin Otter Flying the Himalayas
Nepal Airlines Corporation (RA)’s international fleet comprises two Airbus A330-200s (9N-ALY Annapurna and 9N-ALZ Makalu) acquired in 2018, and two Airbus A320s (9N-AKW and 9N-AKX) delivered in February and April 2015 respectively. These average roughly 9.5 years in age and represent a creditable modernization drive.
| Reg | Aircraft Type | Config | Delivered | Aircraft Name | Age |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 9N-AKW | Airbus A320-200 | C8Y150 | Feb 2015 | Sagarmatha | 11.3 Years |
| 9N-AKX | Airbus A320-200 | C8Y150 | Apr 2015 | Lumbini | 11.2 Years |
| 9N-ALY | Airbus A330-200 | C18Y256 | Jun 2018 | Annapurna | 8 Years |
| 9N-ALZ | Airbus A330-200 | C18Y256 | Jul 2018 | Makalu | 8 Years |
Nepal Airlines operates two De Havilland Canada DHC-6-300 Twin Otter aircraft — registrations 9N-ABT and 9N-ABU — that carry an average age exceeding 41 years. These aircraft are the workhorses of Nepal Airlines’ domestic network. They were manufactured between 1965 and 1988 — and the DHC-6-300 series, specifically, ceased production in 1988.
 The airline’s overall average fleet age, factoring in all types, sits at approximately 20.4 years.
Nepal Airlines also has Yarbin Y12 and Mh-60s it doesn’t know what to do with and are idly sitting.
Buddha Air (U4): ATRs Beyond 50,000 Cycles
Buddha Air (U4), the largest domestic carrier in Nepal by fleet size, operates a mixed fleet of ATR 42 and ATR 72-500 turboprops — 15 aircraft in total, flying more than 160 flights a day across 14 domestic destinations.
Three of Buddha Air’s ATR 42 aircraft are 24 to 28 years old, and each has individually logged more than 50,000 flight cycles Flight cycles. When Buddha Air retired its ATR 42-320 registered 9N-AIN in 2024, the airline marked a genuine aviation milestone: the aircraft had completed the full economic life of 70,000 flight cycles, the first ATR anywhere in the world to do so in commercial passenger service.
The oldest aircraft operated by Buddha Air is an ATR 42 that is registered 9N-AIT. The carrier obtained this aircraft in 2009. Let’s look at the aircraft’s history that was manufactured in Toulouse before it made it to Nepal. All other aircraft in the carrier’s fleet are the ATR 72 types:
| Reg | Config | Delivered | Age |
|---|---|---|---|
| 9N-AJL | — | May 2021 | 15.5 Years |
| 9N-AJS | Y70 | Aug 2011 | 28.6 Years |
| 9N-AJX | Y72 | Sep 2012 | 27.2 Years |
| 9N-AMD | Y72 | Jan 2017 | 19.6 Years |
| 9N-AMU | Y72 | Jun 2018 | 18.8 Years |
| 9N-AMY | — | Mar 2019 | 19 Years |
| 9N-ANH | — | Jan 2021 | 15.7 Years |
| 9N-ANI | Y68 | Sep 2019 | 18.5 Years |
| 9N-ANP | — | Mar 2022 | 17.5 Years |
| 9N-ANQ | Y72 | May 2023 | 17.5 Years |
| 9N-ANW | — | Aug 2023 | 15.8 Years |
| 9N-ANZ | — | Jun 2024 | 16.3 Years |
| 9N-AOC | Y72 | Oct 2023 | 14.9 Years |
| 9N-AOG | Y68 | Dec 2024 | 16.2 Years |
Yeti Airlines (YT) And Tara Air (TA) Operate ATR 72s And Twin Otters
Yeti Airlines (YT) currently operates seven aircraft, all of which are ATR 42 and ATR 72-500 turboprops, following the loss of its ATR 72-500 9N-ANC in the January 15, 2023, crash at Pokhara International Airport (PKR) — Nepal’s deadliest domestic accident in three decades, in which all 72 people on board were killed. The carrier’s active ATR fleet averages approximately 17 years, with the details mentioned by planespotters.net being the following:
| Reg | Config | Delivered | Age |
|---|---|---|---|
| 9N-ALN | Y70 | Sep 2018 | 18.4 Years |
| 9N-AMM | Y70 | Sep 2017 | 19.1 Years |
| 9N-AMN | Y70 | Jul 2017 | 16.9 Years |
| 9N-AMZ | Y70 | Sep 2022 | 14.5 Years |
| 9N-ANG | Y70 | Jul 2019 | 19.2 Years |
| 9N-AOF | — | Feb 2024 | 17.5 Years |
| 9N-AOH | — | Feb 2024 | 17.7 Years |
Yeti Airlines’ subsidiary, Tara Air (TA) operates De Havilland Canada DHC-6/300 and DHC-6/400 Twin Otters for these sectors.
| Reg | Aircraft Type | Config | Delivered | Age |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 9N-AEV | De Havilland Canada DHC-6 Twin Otter | Y19 / Cargo | Nov 2009 | 45.5 Years |
| 9N-AKL | Viking DHC-6 Twin Otter | Y19 / Cargo | Jul 2015 | 11.2 Years |
| 9N-ALO | Viking DHC-6 Twin Otter | Y19 / Cargo | Jul 2018 | 15.5 Years |
The Fleet Age Spectrum of Other Carriers in Nepal
Himalaya Airlines (H9)
Himalaya Airlines has the youngest jet fleet of any Nepal-based carrier. The carrier recently started the first Shenzhen services from Kathmandu and in doing so, became the first carrier to do so. The four aircraft of this carrier average 9.2 years.
| Reg | Aircraft Type | Config | Delivered | Age |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 9N-AJK | Airbus A319-100 | Y144 | Mar 2020 | 7 Years |
| 9N-ALM | Airbus A320-200 | Y180 | Nov 2019 | 11 Years |
| 9N-ALV | Airbus A320-200 | Y180 | Jan 2017 | 9.4 Years |
| 9N-ALW | Airbus A320-200 | Y180 | Mar 2017 | 9.2 Years |
Shree Airlines (N7)
Shree Airlines has a fleet that comprises of Bombardier CRJ-200s and De Havilland Canada DHC-8-400s. The average fleet age of the carrier is 18.4 years.
| Reg | Aircraft Type | Config | Delivered | Age |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 9N-AMA | Bombardier CRJ-200 | Y50 | May 2017 | 23.1 Years |
| 9N-AMC | Bombardier CRJ-200 | Y50 | Apr 2017 | 24.1 Years |
| 9N-ANE | Bombardier DHC-8-400 | Y76 | Jul 2019 | 19.6 Years |
| 9N-ANF | Bombardier DHC-8-400 | Y76 | Jul 2019 | 19.5 Years |
| 9N-ANR | Bombardier DHC-8-400 | Y76 | Dec 2021 | 16.6 Years |
| 9N-ANS | Bombardier DHC-8-400 | Y76 | Jan 2022 | 16.6 Years |
| 9N-AOK | Bombardier DHC-8-400 | Y76 | Mar 2024 | 15.5 Years |
| 9N-AOL | Bombardier DHC-8-400 | Y76 | Mar 2024 | 15.5 Years |
| 9N-AOM | Bombardier DHC-8-400 | Y76 | Jun 2024 | 15.5 Years |
Summit Air / Goma Air
Summit is the only carrier in the country that operates a Let L-410 UVP-E20 Turbolet and there’s little public information about the specifics of the aircraft that the carrier operates. Alongside Sita Air and Tara Air, the carrier is one of the three operators to Lukla. The carrier changed its name from Goma after a crash of its Let L-410 in Lukla.
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