| Founded | 1948 |
|---|---|
| Ceased operations | 1953 (renamed into Indian Airlines) |
| Headquarters |  Calcutta, India |
Himalayan Aviation (Hindi: हिमालयन एविएशन) was an airline based in India that operated in the northern parts of the Indian subcontinent until its nationalisation and merger into Indian Airlines in 1953. On 20 February 1950, Himalayan Aviation ran the first ever international flight from Nepal, from Gauchar, Nepal, to Calcutta, India.[1]
Himalayan Aviation began with chartered flights.[2] Over time, it expanded to night-mail services and scheduled passenger flights. In order to maximize revenue, it began taking on passengers on its night-mail flights as well.[3]
On 7 December 1951, Pakistan detained a Himalayan Aviation flight from Ahmedabad, India, to Kabul, Afghanistan, at the stopover point in Karachi. Pakistan had previously denied use of the direct Delhi-Kabul air-corridor that overflew the North West Frontier Province. India and Pakistan had worked out an alternative Ahmadabad-Karachi-Zahedan (Iran)-Kabul route.[4]
- ^ COVER STORY (Spotlight Weekly), 14th Dec. 2001
- ^ Roy R. Roadcap (1992). World Airline Record. Roy R. Roadcap & Associates.
- ^ Kalka Prasad Bhatnagar (1951). Transport in Modern India. Kishore Publishing House, Kanpur.
- ^ "Miscellaneous : dated 7 December 1951: Pak. halts Indian plane to Kabul". The Hindu. 7 December 2001. Retrieved 26 July 2018.[dead link]