Yeti Airlines

Yeti Airlines Twin Otter at Pokhara Airport (April 2000)

Yeti Airlines Jetstream 41 at Pokhara Airport in 2019

Yeti Airlines was established by Ang Tshering Sherpa in May 1998 and received its Air Operators Certificate on 17 August 1998. It started operations with two de Havilland Canada DHC-6 Twin Otters.

In 2009, Yeti Airlines established the subsidiary Tara Air to which it outsourced its STOL operations to airports in the rural and mountainous airports in Nepal and transferred its respective aircraft, DHC-6 Twin Otters and Dornier 228s to Tara Air.[4][5]

Yeti Airlines and Tara Air combine to form the largest domestic airline in Nepal; the group has more than 60% of the total market share as of January 2008. Together, Yeti Airlines and Tara Air have the widest domestic flight network of any Nepali airline and fly to most destinations in Nepal.

In 2007, Yeti Airlines launched Fly Yeti as a joint venture with Air Arabia.[6] Due to political uncertainty, the airline ceased its operations in 2008.[7]

In 2013, the European Commission banned all Nepalese airlines from entering the European airspace. This restriction is still in place as of November 2017 and specifically also regards Yeti Airlines.[8][9]

In 2014, Yeti Airlines launched Himalaya Airlines, another joint venture, this time with Chinese Tibet Airlines.[10]

The parent company of Yeti Airlines, Yeti World, also encompasses other touristic ventures, including hotels and resorts and further airline companies, namely Air Dynasty and [Altitude Air]].[11][12]

In December 2019, Yeti World made headlines, as it was involved in a corruption case around Prime Minister K.P. Oli.[12]

Yeti Airlines ATR 72-500 (9N-ALN) at Gautam Buddha Airport, Bhairahawa

Yeti Airlines offers scheduled flights to the following destinations (as of October 2020):[13]

Yeti Airlines also operates one-hour-long Everest Express scheduled mountain sightseeing flights from Kathmandu to Mount Everest[16] and Annapurna Express mountain sightseeing flights from Pokhara to Annapurna Massif.[17]

• 25 May 2004 – Yeti Airlines Flight 117: A Yeti Airlines de Havilland Canada DHC-6 Twin Otter (registration 9N-AFD) cargo flight crashed into a hill on approach to Lukla.[29]
• 21 June 2006 – 2006 Yeti Airlines Twin Otter Crash: A DHC-6 Twin Otter registered 9N-AEQ was destroyed in a rice paddy field on approach to Jumla, killing all six passengers and the crew of three.[30]
• 8 October 2008 – Yeti Airlines Flight 103: A DHC-6 was destroyed upon landing at Lukla, killing all eighteen passengers and two of the three crew. The captain was the only survivor.[31]
• 24 September 2016 – Yeti Airlines Flight 893: A BAe Jetstream 41 registration 9N-AIB en route from Kathmandu to Bhairahawa overran the runway while landing at Gautam Buddha Airport. All 29 passengers and the crew of 3 were unhurt but the aircraft was damaged beyond repair.[32]
• 1 March 2019 – Following the 2019 Taplejung helicopter crash, Yeti Airlines halted all of their flights on 1 March 2019 mourning the loss of their managing director Ang Tshering Sherpa (de).[33]
• 12 July 2019 – A Yeti Airlines ATR 72-500 registration 9N-AMM en route from Nepalgunj Airport to Tribhuvan International Airport suffered a runway excursion while landing. All 68 people onboard including the crew of 4 evacuated the aircraft safely. Two of them received minor injuries and were taken to the hospital. A wet runway during the rainy season could have been the cause.[34]

Yeti Airlines is the current shirt sponsor of Kathmandu-based football club Himalayan Sherpa Club, who currently play in Nepal's highest football league, the Martyr's Memorial A-Division League.[35]

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