Nepali government has given the green light to Air Arabia, a "designated airline" of the United Arab Emirates (UAE), to begin its air operations to Nepal, which is expected to begin anytime now.

"Acknowledging UAE's interest to operate in Nepal, the government allowed Air Arabia, an airline designated by UAE to fly to Nepal as per our Air Service Agreement (ASA)," joint-secretary at the Ministry of Culture, Tourism and Civil Aviation Yagya Gautam told reporters here on Monday.

The airline will begin its operations from Sharjah to Kathmandu after receiving flight schedules from the Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal (CAAN). UAE's designated airlines can fly to Kathmandu eight times a week from any point of UAE as per the existing ASA, Gautam said.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs recently notified the Tourism Ministry that the airline will begin its air operations to Nepal, he said.

However, CAAN is yet to issue flight schedules to Air Arabia since it has not received the airline's request for the schedules.

"We will approve the flight schedules once we receive their application. Only then can we tell when the airline intends to begin the operations," deputy director general of CAAN Keshav Khanal said.

Since there are many Nepali migrant workers in Sharjah, the airline's operations on the Sharjah-Kathmandu sector will benefit them, he said.

(Xinhua News Agency October 9, 2006)