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India resumes Kathmandu flights to bring back stranded people, first flight tonight
Nepal's army took back control of Kathmandu on September 10 after the worst violence in two decades ousted the prime minister and left the parliament ablaze
NEW DELHI: India’s airlines will commence operating scheduled and additional flights to Nepal’s Tribhuvan International Airport (TIA), people familiar with the matter said, as the authorities opened the Kathmandu airport which was forced to shut down on Tuesday amid escalating violence in the country.
“The civil aviation ministry had an hour-long meeting with both IndiGo and Air India to discuss the rescue operation. It was then decided that an Air India flight would be leaving for Nepal on Wednesday night itself,” an official close to the development said.
“The priority is to fly back stranded passengers who had to be in the airport overnight on Tuesday,” the official added.
Civil aviation minister Ram Mohan Naidu said the aviation sector was committed to supporting its passengers while ensuring their safe travel during this time.
“Due to airport closure in Nepal, many home-bound passengers were unable to return from Kathmandu. With the opening of the airport operation in Kathmandu, @MoCA_GoI, in coordination with Air India & IndiGo, has arranged additional flights this evening & over the next few days, alongside scheduled services resuming tomorrow. Airlines have been advised to keep their fares within reasonable levels,” said Naidu.
Officials aware of the development said charter flights by a few Indian states were also planned to rescue passengers stranded in Nepal. “Most of the stranded passengers are from Gujarat and Andhra Pradesh,” a second official said.
A third official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said, “The first flight, an Air India flight 221, departed Delhi at 8.30 pm and is expected to land in Nepal at 10.20 pm local time. The remaining flights will operate from Thursday morning.”
“The challenge was to bring the airport and ground staff to the airport. They were, however, escorted by the military in order to be able to reopen the airport,” he added.
In a post on X, Air India said, “Air India is operating special flights today and tomorrow from Delhi to Kathmandu and back to help passengers who have been stranded due to the recent developments in Nepal. Our scheduled operations will also resume from tomorrow.…Passengers are requested to check the status of their flights here airindia.com/in/en/manage/f… before proceeding to the airport. For further assistance, please contact our 24×7 Call Centre at 011-69329333 / 011-69329999.”
