TIA records 19 international chartered flights during lockdown

Kathmandu - Tribhuvan International Airport (TIA), the country's sole international airport, has remained closed for around a month due to the rapidly spreading pandemic of coronavirus. However, the airport continues to see international flights during a nationwide lockdown against the disease for two weeks. As informed by the Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal (CAAN), international aviation service providers made 19 flights from TIA till today since March 23. They were chartered flights with some cargo flights.

CAAN Spokesperson Raj Kumar Chhetri said over 3,000 foreigners returned home via same flights during lockdown. The Qatar Airways had made the highest nine flights followed by four flights by the national flag carrier Nepal Airlines Company, and one flight each by Korean, Malaysia, Etehad, Czech Republican and Titan airways. They carried people from mainly European countries and from New Zealand, Malaysia, and the US back to their homes. The flights were managed by the embassies of respective countries in Nepal and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs had facilitated towards that end.