Four airlines have applied at the Ministry of Tourism and Civil Aviation to operate international flights.

Two domestic airlines -- Buddha Air and Shree Airlines -- and two new players -- Unity Airlines and Dynamic Airlines -- have applied for the license to fly to international destinations. The ministry would take decision on awarding license after studying their technical and financial proposals submitted by the airlines.

Among the new applicants, Buddha Air is preparing to start flights to different Indian cities with focus on pilgrimage tourism. The airline has already announced Pokhara-Lucknow flights and is doing groundwork to start flying in the Biratnangar-Varanasi sector. Shree Airlines has submitted application for license to operate chartered helicopter services in the South Asia region. It also plans to fly to Kailash-Mansarovar area in Tibet.

Dynamic Airlines, a new player, has plans to operate flights to 11 destinations, including Doha, Dubai, Malaysia, New Delhi, Karachi and Dhaka from Kathmandu.

As per the amended regulations, domestic airlines with five years of commercial experience and a fleet of at least three aircraft are eligible to apply for international flights. The new airlines, however, need to have paid-up capital of Rs 500 million and a security bond of Rs 5 million to apply.