International Flights to Nepal to Resume in Mid-August

KATHMANDU, KOMPAS.com – International flights to Nepal will resume from August 17 following four months of suspending flights to curb the transmission of the Covid-19 virus in the country.

The news was shared by a minister of the Nepali government on Tuesday.

To address the coronavirus pandemic, Nepal enforced a nationwide lockdown in which scheduled flights grounded to a halt.

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The restrictions were enforced in March when the country reported its first confirmed Covid-19 cases.

So far, Nepal has reported 17,844 infections with 40 deaths from the disease.

Nepal is wedged between China and India though it is also home to eight of the world’s 14 highest mountains including Mount Everest, is dependent on tourism including mountain climbing.

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The decision to restart flights from Nepal’s only international airport in Kathmandu was taken at a cabinet meeting late on Monday.

“We’ll prepare the safety regulations which must be followed by airlines to operate,” Tourism and Civil Aviation Minister Yogesh Bhattarai told Reuters.

Deochandra Lal Karna, a spokesman for Kathmandu airport, said safety rules like — social distancing, use of sanitizers and masks — were already in place for specially chartered evacuation flights for nationals stranded because of the pandemic.

"Now the airlines will submit their flight schedules for approval before starting services," Karna said.

(Writer: Gopal Sharma | Editor: Sanjeev Miglani, Simon Cameron-Moore) 

Source: https://www.reuters.com/article/us-health-coronavirus-nepal-flights/nepal-to-resume-international-flights-after-long-halt-due-to-coronavirus-idUSKCN24M0TM