KATHMANDU, Jul 1 (NNN-AGENCIES) – The Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal (CAAN), approved a month-long schedule for Nepali and foreign airlines, to conduct international flights from and to 11 foreign destinations, an official said yesterday.
According to a notice, issued in the name of airlines, the CAAN has greenlighted 21 flights per week, from and to 11 foreign destinations, from today, Jul 1 to Jul 31.
It is the first time for Nepal to approve so many flights to so many destinations, since it went into lockdown in late Apr, to contain a second wave of the COVID-19 pandemic.
As per the CAAN’s notice, the designated airlines can conduct flights from and to New Delhi of India, Doha of Qatar, Istanbul of Turkey, Dubai, Sharjah and Abu Dhabi of the United Arab Emirates, Dammam of Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Muscat of Oman, Kuala Lumpur of Malaysia and Narita of Japan.
CAAN’s spokesman, Raj Kumar Chhetri, said that, the flights were approved for a month, following consultations with the airlines, after the Nepali government decided to increase the number of destinations for the resumption of international flights.
Chhetri noted that, there would be only one-way flights from Dubai, Sharjah and Abu Dhabi to Kathmandu, as the United Arab Emirates does not allow travel from Nepal for now. “Flights to Istanbul can take place only for transit purposes,” he added.
According to Chhetri, the airlines did not request slots for flights to South Korea and China in July.
Meanwhile, Nepal will resume its suspended domestic flights today, but with capacity cut by half for each flight, the CAAN said.
Nepal eased restrictive measures against COVID-19, while extending the lockdown in the Kathmandu Valley for the last two weeks, due to declining cases.
