The China Southern Airlines has sought approval by the Nepali Ministry of Culture, Tourism and Civil Aviation to fly on Guangzhou-Kathmandu sector, a source at the Tourism Ministry has said.

Yagya Gautam, joint-secretary at the Tourism Ministry, confirmed that the government has received the airline's application seeking the government's nod to fly to Nepal from Guangzhou, China.

"We are yet to consider China Southern Airlines' interest to begin its operations in Nepal since we haven't received all the required documents," he told a leading newspaper, The Himalayan Times daily on Friday.

The ministry will begin the process once all the requirements are met through diplomatic channels, he said.

"Since Guangzhou is one of the main business centers in China, the airline's operation on the sector concerned will strengthen ties between China and Nepal," Keshav Khanal, deputy director general at the Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal (CAAN) said.

According to the report, the Nepali government had recently given the green signal to Etihad Airways, an airline from the United Arab Emirates (UAE) to fly on Dubai-Kathmandu sector.

The airline can fly to Nepal once it receives a flight schedule from CAAN, Gautam said.

Air Arabia, another airline from the UAE is expected to begin its operations on Sharjah-Kathmandu sector from Nov. 7.

The government is considering allowing Thailand's Orient Thai to fly to Nepal. Orient Thai is keen on operating scheduled flights from Bangkok to Kathmandu while Korean Air is planning to operate chartered flights to Kathmandu.

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