Nepal decides to resume international, domestic flights with COVID restrictions

Kathmandu (Nepal), June 22 : Nepal on Tuesday decided to resume international and domestic flights with some COVID-19 related restrictions in place.

According to the Office of the Prime Minister and Council of Ministers, domestic flights will be allowed to operate with 50 per cent seat occupancy to help contain the possible spread of COVID-19, while international flights will be operated as per the safety protocol developed earlier by the government.

"We will hold consultation with the stakeholders and prepare the number of flights each airline company can operate in consultation with the Ministry of Culture, Tourism and Civil Aviation.  It will be finalized very soon and a meeting has been called for Wednesday," Rajan Pokhrel, Director General of Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal (CAAN) told Press over the phone.

The



government has also decided to resume regular international flights to and from Kathmandu in limited destinations.

With the new decisions in place, Nepal Airlines and Qatar Airways will be allowed to operate two flights each a week in the Kathmandu-Doha sector.

Similarly, the government has decided to allow four flights a week in the Kathmandu-Doha sector, Kathmandu-Kuala Lumpur sector, two flights a week in the Kathmandu-Istanbul sector, Kathmandu-Dammam and Kathmandu-Kuwait sectors.

Among other sectors, the government has allowed operating one flight a week in Kathmandu-Muscat, Kathmandu- Seoul, Kathmandu-Japan, Kathmandu-Chengdu and Kathmandu-Guangzhou sectors.

Nepal decided to halt all domestic flights from midnight of May 3, and all international flights from midnight of May 6 except for two weekly flights on the Kathmandu-Delhi sector.