Nepal’s Himalaya Airlines is flying to Tibet’s capital – a first for foreign airline

Nepal’s Himalaya Airlines announced it will begin weekly flights between Kathmandu and Tibet’s regional capital of Lhasa this week, the first non-Chinese airline to receive permission to fly into Tibet. The move is aimed at bolstering tourism, an airline spokesperson told Radio Free Asia. “No other airline has received this permission,” she said. The inaugural flight by the Kathmandu-based airline – a joint venture between Nepal and China – to Lhasa is set to take off from Kathmandu on Thursday and is scheduled to operate once a week. China has expanded its economic and political influence in the Himalayan country sandwiched between it and India. A recent report said that China’s sway within Nepal has led to stricter regulations on the estimated 20,000 Tibetans residing in the country, many without legal status. Nepal “has become a highly unsafe and insecure place for Tibetan refugees to exercise basic human rights, including freedom of religion, culture and expression,” according to the report from Seoul-based Asian Dignity Initiative and Dharamsala, India-based advocacy group Tibetan Centre for Human Rights and Democracy.<br/>