After operating the aircraft at full capacity, Buddha Air has formally bid farewell to its ATR-72 aircraft with call sign 9N-AJO.

The maximum flight capacity of the ATR-72 aircraft is 72,000 cycles. A ‘cycle’ refers to one take-off and one landing of the aircraft.

This ATR-72 aircraft was involved in commercial flights since July 2, 2010. Its last flight was on March 9, 2026 from Bhairahawa to Kathmandu. During its 16-year flight, this aircraft carried 2.482 million 772 passengers.

In an emotional farewell moment, Buddha Air Executive Chairman Birendra Bahadur Basnet said, ‘This aircraft has made a great contribution to making air travel in Nepal easier, less expensive and environmentally friendly.’ This has played a major role in both Buddha Air's market expansion and expansion. We have also set a historical record of operating an ATR aircraft for the full life of the aircraft.''

Teknath Sitaula, General Manager of the Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal, said that it was possible to successfully bid farewell to the ATR aircraft today due to Buddha Air's commitment to air safety and excellent maintenance and management.''

Stefano Marazzani, Senior Vice President of ATR Company, expressed deep happiness over the partnership with Buddha Air and said - 'This aircraft, designed and built by ATR Company, was able to serve safely until its last flight with qualified hands and the right environment and excellent technical systems. This has once again proven Buddha Air's high safety commitment.''

Earlier, Buddha Air had also bid farewell to the ATR-42 aircraft on 10 September 2024. Buddha Air is flying domestically across the country and directly from Pokhara to Nepalgunj, Bhairahawa and Bharatpur. It is also flying internationally to Varanasi and Kolkata in India.