Goma Air (Nepal) (Kathmandu) took delivery of its first Let 410, 9N-AKY (cn 3005), at a ceremony held in Kathmandu late last week. The twinprop, the first of two, will be deployed on flights to Short Take-Off and Landing (STOL) airfields, such as Lukla and Jomsom, later this week.

The carrier began making preparations for the aircraft's arrival as early as last year when it successfully conducted test flights covering Kathmandu to Jomsom via Pokhara International and Kathmandu to Lukla, two of Nepal's most technically difficult routes. Following the flights, the Let Kunovice (Uherske Hradiste) machine was issued its aircraft type certificate by the Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal paving the way for its arrival this year.

Until now, the carrier had only operated a pair of Cessna (single turboprop) Caravan 208Bs on charter and air taxi flights to Jumla, Simikot, Dolpa, Bajura, Rukumkot, Bajhang, and Tanana from its Surhket and Nepalgunj hubs.