A total of 264 Nepalis have arrived in Nepal on the first day of resumption of international air service on Tuesday.

Nepal Airlines Corporation (NAC) and Himalaya Airlines conducted one flight each from Qatar carrying 138 and 126 passengers, respectively. Both the flights are charter flights managed in coordination with the Embassy of Nepal in Qatar. 

According to Tribhuvan International Airport, only one person left the country in the Nepal Airlines aircraft for Kuwait. The air service that was stalled for more than five months has resumed with conditions from today.

With the resumption of the international air service, the government has said that airlines can fly home passengers not exceeding 800 people a day. The limit set earlier by the government was 500 a day. 

The Ministry of Culture, Tourism and Civil Aviation will be responsible to oversee the operation of flights and quarantines upon their arrival in case of the repatriation of Nepalis stranded abroad. 

A total of 59 scheduled commercial flights will be conducted in a month. While 30 flights will be operated by foreign airlines, the remaining 29 flights will be conducted by Nepal-based international airlines. The government-owned NAC will carry out 17 flights to destinations like Japan, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Malaysia and Hongkong and the Himalayan Airlines will conduct 12 flights to China, Malaysia and the UAE.

The operation of charter flights will be continued to countries like Kuwait, Saudi Arabia and Qatar where PCR tests are not accessible. Nepali diplomatic missions in those countries will coordinate with MoCTCA to operate charter flights.

Published on: 1 September 2020 | Republica