Nepal and Oman have revised bilateral Air Service Agreement (ASA) allowing designated carriers of each country to operate a maximum of 21 flights a week.

Secretary at Ministry of Culture, Tourism and Civil Aviation Suresh Man Shrestha and Anwar bin Abdullah al Raisi, acting director general of Oman´s Public Authority for Civil Aviation, signed the agreement on behalf of their respective countries.

Carriers of each country can now operate a maximum of 21 flights per week. At present, designated carriers of each country are operating a maximum of seven flights per week. As per the agreement, they will be allowed to operate a maximum of 28 flights per week from 2016.

Officials say the fresh revision in ASA will pave the way for new airlines from Oman to fly to Nepal. At present, only Oman Air -- the national flag carrier of the Sultanate of Oman -- has been linking the two countries.

Officials of Oman Air say they will now operate at least two flights a day to Kathmandu from Muscat.

According to Omani daily Times of Oman, the MoU amended the previous agreement signed in 1997 and has also added two articles on air safety, recognition of certificates, approvals amending the name of the civil aviation authority in the Sultanate of Oman and amending the route tables annexed to the agreement