Free Shuttle Bus Service Expanded at Surkhet Airport

The free shuttle bus service operating from Surkhet Airport will be expanded from Jestha 8 to run through Kalunchok, Ghantaghar Chowk, Mangalghadi Chowk, and finally to the Three-Way Junction. Mukunda Prasad Niraula, Secretary of the Ministry of Culture, Tourism and Civil Aviation, has instructed the expansion of the shuttle bus service to enhance passenger convenience. Local business owners say that the expansion will facilitate easier travel for passengers between the airport and key market areas and reduce the high cost of private transportation.

Surkhet Airport, the main air gateway of Karnali Province, has expanded its free shuttle bus service. On Thursday, following an inspection of the airport and shuttle services, Mukunda Prasad Niraula directed that the service be expanded to better serve passenger needs. Subsequently, Hirajan Kafle, Chief of the Surkhet Civil Aviation Office and the airport, announced the expansion of the free shuttle bus service.

According to a notice issued by the Surkhet Civil Aviation Office, the shuttle bus service has been extended from Friday onwards to ensure continuous, convenient travel for passengers between the airport and principal market areas. The notice from Airport Chief Kafle states, “The free shuttle bus service, which has been operating from the airport to Three-Way Junction, will from Jestha 8 run from Surkhet Airport through Kalunchok, Ghantaghar Chowk, Mangalghadi Chowk, to Three-Way Junction.”

Surkhet Airport is developing as the primary air hub for tourism, trade, and administrative activities in Karnali Province. Recently, with daily regular flights from Kathmandu and an increase in passenger numbers traveling to Karnali’s mountainous districts, traffic management around the airport has become challenging. To ease this situation, Secretary Niraula informed that the shuttle bus service expansion targets mainly domestic air travelers, tourists, senior citizens, and first-time visitors to Surkhet by adding new operational routes. This expansion aims to reduce passengers’ reliance on costly private transportation from the airport to the market area. Local business owners believe that improving organized access between the airport and the provincial capital, Birendranagar, will directly benefit tourism and the service sector.