Himalaya Airlines (H9), Nepal’s Nepal-China joint-venture international carrier, commenced direct scheduled flight service between Tribhuvan International Airport (KTM), Kathmandu, and Shenzhen Bao’an International Airport (SZX) on June 4, 2026. The inaugural outbound service, flight H9 985, took off from Kathmandu at 09:59 PM local time carrying 98 passengers, landing in Shenzhen at 04:17 AM Chinese local time on June 5. With that departure, Himalaya Airlines became the first and only commercial carrier in the history of civil aviation to operate a scheduled direct service on the Kathmandu–Shenzhen–Kathmandu sector — a corridor that no airline had ever claimed.
The return service, H9 986, departed Shenzhen Bao’an International Airport at 06:12 AM Chinese local time on June 5 with 157 passengers on board and landed at Tribhuvan International Airport at 08:26 AM Nepali local time on the same day. The higher load on the inbound leg signals robust initial demand from Shenzhen-side travelers, even before any sustained promotional campaign. The airline deploys its Airbus A320-214 on the sector, configured in an all-economy, 180-seat layout.
Flight Schedule And Operational Details for the Kathmandu–Shenzhen Sector
The Kathmandu–Shenzhen corridor had remained entirely unclaimed prior to June 4, 2026. AeroRoutes data confirms that the carrier initially schedules the route at two to three weekly frequencies, with plans to increase to four weekly rotations from June 22, 2026. Himalaya Airlines launches this route during Nepal’s traditionally lean early-summer tourism season — a calculated gambit to inject inbound demand at precisely the moment the country’s hospitality sector needs it most.
The Kathmandu Post reports that the airline operates outbound services from Tribhuvan International Airport every Tuesday and Thursday, with inbound services from Shenzhen Bao’an International Airport on Wednesdays and Fridays.
The current schedule maintains a logical 24-hour turnaround rhythm that gives the operating aircraft adequate ground time at both ends. The inaugural schedule, effective June 4 through June 30, 2026, is as follows:
| Sector | Days of Operation | Departure | Arrival |
|---|---|---|---|
| KTM–SZX | Tuesday, Thursday | 09:59 PM (NPT) | 04:17 AM+1 (CST) |
| SZX–KTM | Wednesday, Friday | 06:12 AM (CST) | 08:26 AM (NPT) |
The airline has confirmed plans to review and increase operational frequency in direct response to passenger demand and load factors. This iterative approach to capacity management reflects standard revenue-management practice for newly inaugurated thin routes. Tickets are available through Himalaya Airlines’ own ticketing counters, authorised travel partners, the official website, and the Himalaya Airlines mobile application.
Understanding The Strategic Weight of Flying to Shenzhen
Shenzhen is not simply another Chinese city Himalaya Airlines adds to its network. Designated as China’s first Special Economic Zone (SEZ) in 1980, the city transformed from a modest fishing village into one of the world’s most productive metropolitan economies within four decades. Its GDP grew at an annualised compound rate of approximately 21.6% between 1979 and 2019, eventually surpassing Hong Kong’s GDP for the first time in 2018.
The city now houses nearly 18 million residents and serves as the global headquarters for technology giants including Huawei, Tencent, DJI, and BYD. Shenzhen Bao’an International Airport handled 61.46 million passengers in 2024, cementing its position as a primary aviation gateway within China’s Pearl River Delta region.
For Himalaya Airlines, the destination offers access to a high-income, outbound-hungry population of business professionals and technology-sector workers — demographics Nepal’s tourism economy has historically struggled to attract in volume.
What Vijay Shrestha, Himalaya’s Vice-President, Said About the New Route
Vijay Shrestha, Vice-President and chief spokesperson of Himalaya Airlines, articulated the airline’s strategic rationale in a statement carried by Peoples’ Review on the day of the inaugural flight. Shrestha said:
“Himalaya Airlines has always pioneered trailblazing and new routes to China, leading the way ahead of conventional market trends. The introduction of the Kathmandu–Shenzhen service is a testament to that commitment. With this route, Himalaya Airlines aims to create memorable travel experiences while upholding the highest standards of safety and service quality. We look forward to welcoming passengers on board and facilitating the discovery of the extraordinary beauty and opportunities that both Nepal and China have to offer.”
In a separate interview cited by MENAFN and the Bangladesh Monitor, Shrestha also disclosed the airline’s broader China ambitions, as he confided that the main mission of Himalaya Airlines is to “operate flights to ten different tourism and economic sectors across China and to welcome one million Chinese tourists to Nepal.”
These two statements, taken together, frame the Shenzhen route not as an isolated addition but as one component of a systematic, decade-spanning network-build across the People’s Republic.
Himalaya’s Airbus A320 for The Kathmandu–Shenzhen Service
Himalaya Airlines operates the Kathmandu–Shenzhen service using aircraft from its four-strong Airbus narrowbody fleet. AirlineRatings notes this fleet carries an average age of 8.5 years — the youngest jet fleet of any Nepali carrier. The fleet breakdown is as follows:
- Three Airbus A320-214 aircraft: all-economy, 180-seat configuration (registration numbers 9N-ALM, 9N-ALV, 9N-ALW)
- One Airbus A319-115 aircraft: all-economy, 144-seat configuration (registration 9N-AJK)
The A320, which serves the Shenzhen sector, is one of the most operationally proven narrowbody aircraft in the world. Its principal performance attributes relevant to this sector include:
- Maximum cruising speed: 903 km/h (487 knots) at 28,000 feet
- Typical range: approximately 5,278–5,639 km, depending on fuel load configuration
- Maximum takeoff weight: up to 77,000 kg in the heaviest variant
- Flight control system: fly-by-wire, a technology first introduced commercially on the A320 family, materially reducing pilot workload
- Service ceiling: 39,000 feet
The A320’s range comfortably accommodates the approximately 3,800 km great-circle distance between Kathmandu and Shenzhen, leaving meaningful fuel reserves even at high altitude departures from TIA.
Himalaya Airlines’ China Strategy
The Shenzhen launch is the most recent chapter in a deliberate and years-long campaign by Himalaya Airlines to build a comprehensive China network out of Kathmandu. The airline inaugurated its first scheduled China service to Beijing on October 27, 2019, marking the first-ever capital-to-capital direct flight between Nepal and China. That service was subsequently suspended during the COVID-19 pandemic and resumed in 2026, restoring a rare direct bridge between Nepal and northern China.
We previously noted that Himalaya Airlines ranked third among all carriers at Tribhuvan International Airport by passenger throughput in September 2025, with 42,119 passengers — ahead of flydubai and Qatar Airways, and behind only Air India and Nepal Airlines.
Shenzhen addition expands the airline’s China destinations to include Beijing, Qingdao, Shanghai, Chongqing, Lhasa, and now Shenzhen — a network spanning China’s northern, eastern, western, southern, and Pearl River Delta aviation markets.
Safety Credentials: Why Himalaya’s Certifications Matter For This Expansion
Himalaya Airlines’ route expansion comes against a backdrop of meaningful institutional safety achievements that set it apart from other carriers in Nepal’s aviation ecosystem. Unlike other Nepalese carriers that have suffered fatal aviation accidents and hull losses, Himalaya has recorded none. On December 28, 2023, the carrier became the first and only airline in Nepal to be certified as an IOSA (IATA Operational Safety Audit) Operator and formally registered as an IATA member airline.
The IOSA certification carries demonstrable weight. The IATA 2025 Safety Report shows IOSA-registered carriers record an all-accident rate of 0.98 per million sectors, against 2.55 for non-IOSA operators — meaning IOSA carriers are statistically approximately two and a half times safer. At the inauguration ceremony, Nabina Karmacharya, Deputy Director General of Nepal’s Aviation Safety and Security Regulation Directorate, stated — as quoted by Spotlight Nepal — that:
“On behalf of Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal, I commend Himalaya Airlines for their exceptional dedication to safety leading to the prestigious IOSA certification. This accomplishment of Himalaya has definitely helped in reinforcing trust and confidence amongst the passengers, contributing significantly towards the growth and development of air travel in the country.”
Himalaya Airlines further holds an ISO 9001:2015 QMS certification, granted on December 29, 2021, covering the provision of air transport for travelling passengers and freight, including aviation-related training services. It also remains the only Nepali carrier to carry Automated External Defibrillators (AEDs) across its entire fleet, a standard it introduced in September 2021.
About Himalaya Airlines
Himalaya Airlines was established in 2014 as a joint venture between Tibetan Civil Aviation Development & Investment Company Ltd. (TCADIC) and Yeti World Investment Pvt. Ltd., with Tibet Airlines holding a 49% stake in the venture. The carrier commenced operations in May 2016 with a single Airbus A320 and has since grown to serve destinations across the Middle East, South Asia, and China. It operates international passenger services to the UAE, Malaysia, Qatar, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Bangladesh, and China.
In 2017, its first year of full operation, Himalaya Airlines received the award for “Leading New International Airlines in South Asia” at the South Asian Travel Awards (SATA). The carrier currently operates to 17 destinations across eight countries with a fleet of four aircraft. It is currently banned from EU airspace — a restriction that applies to all Nepali carriers — but its IOSA certification represents the clearest institutional marker of its intent to align with international operational standards.
For further enquiries, the airline’s Brand Department can be reached at:
- Telephone: +977 014422454 / 014422353
- Email: brand@himalaya-airlines.com
- Website: www.himalaya-airlines.com