Nepal adds more destinations for resumed int'l flights

A cabinet meeting decided on Monday to allow flights to the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Oman, Malaysia, South Korea and Japan, said Buddhisagar Lamichhane, joint secretary at the Ministry of Culture, Tourism and Civil Aviation.

The move came as the Kathmandu Valley went into lockdown for another week with eased restrictions on Tuesday, as new Covid-19 infections have declined for weeks in the Himalayan country amid a second wave of the pandemic, the Xinhua news agency reported.

Earlier, Nepal has reopened flights to India, China, Turkey and Qatar. Flight frequencies to Turkey and Qatar have been increased as per the new decision.

Lamichhane said his ministry would decide on Wednesday when the international flights for the new destinations would be allowed. "Possibly, international flights to new destinations will be allowed later this week or early next week," he added.

According to Nepal's cabinet decision, one to four flights a week have been allowed to and from different destinations.

Domestic flights have been suspended in Nepal since early May. Under the cabinet decision, domestic flights will be operated on the basis that no more than half of the total domestic flights in normal days will take place.

"Domestic flights may be allowed to resume from early next week," said Lamichhane.

In the case of China, the Nepali government has decided to allow two flights a week to Chengdu and Guangzhou respectively. Lamichhane said the destinations may be changed based on consultations with the Chinese side.