International flights suspended until May 31

KATHMANDU: The government of Nepal has suspended all international flights for until May 31 midnight due to rapid spread of COVID-19 in Nepal. Earlier, the government had decided to stop all domestic and international scheduled flights.

In a notice issued on Tuesday, the Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal (CAAN), the main regulatory body, has stated that the two flights will be operational in a week between Kathmandu and New Delhi as part of Air Travel Bubble Arrangement with India.

“Airlines are informed not to open passenger booking to and from Nepal until further advice and are notified to facilitate refunding of air tickets or extension of travel dates as required by passengers,” Hirajan Kafle, the Manager at CAAN said in a statement.

Nepal decided to stop all domestic flights from May 3 midnight and all international flights from May 7 midnight until May 14 to check the rapidly growing spread of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Prohibitory orders in Kathmandu Valley that have been in place since April 29 to contain the spread of the coronavirus have also been extended until May 27.

A meeting of the chief district officers of Kathmandu, Lalitpur and Bhaktapur took a decision to this effect on Tuesday.