BAITADI: Air service in Baitadi remained closed for the past six months due to bad weather and a lack of passengers, said the airport authorities.

Earlier, Summit Air had been operating a flight between Dhangadhi-Baitadi-Dhangadhi once a week (Thursdays), but its flight has been closed since March 24, said Krishna Dutta Bhatta, the contact person for Summit Air.

As a result, people have been affected especially at a time when Dashain festival is around the corner.

It takes at least eight hours on a public vehicle to reach Dhangadhi from Baitadi. At present, the airline has been operating flights elsewhere to tourist destinations where there is the availability of passengers easily, he said.

“The airline conducted flights at Lukla and Jomsom for two or three months. A plan was afoot to operate flights between Dhangadhi-Baitadi-Dhangadhi. But bad weather and a lack of passengers affected it,” he said, adding that now, the flight between the routes would resume from the third week of September.