Buddha Air bids farewell to ATR 42 with 'water salute'

Kathmandu, September 10 — Buddha Air, the leading private sector airline, has retired its ATR 42 aircraft, registration 9N-AIN, from active service.

The aircraft was officially decommissioned on Tuesday after 16 years of service.

The airline held a farewell ceremony at Tribhuvan International Airport, where the aircraft was honored with a traditional water salute.

In accordance with ATR guidelines, aircraft are restricted from flying after completing 70,000 cycles. This ATR 42 had completed 40,000 cycles exclusively within Nepal.

The aircraft, which had a seating capacity of 47, began its commercial service on December 28, 1997, and commenced its mountain flight service on September 17, 2008.

The aircraft performed its last mountain flight before being grounded on Tuesday.