Nepal extends international, domestic flight suspension till May 15

KATHMANDU: The Nepali government on Saturday decided to extend the ongoing suspension of both domestic and international flights on its sky till May 15, as the threat of COVID-19 continues, a senior official of Nepali government said.

It is the third time that the Nepali government extended the deadline of international flight suspension after first imposing the measure from March 22 to March 31. Earlier, the government had decided to extend the deadline of international flight suspension until April 15, which was further extended till April 30.

Nepali government has also been suspending domestic flights as well, regularly to control the movement of people from one place to another.

"The High-Level Coordination Committee for the Prevention and Control of COVID-19, decided to extend the ongoing suspension of domestic and international flights by 15 more days to May 15 as time has not arrived to resume flights," Narayan Bidari, secretary at the Prime Minister's Office, told the media after the conclusion of a meeting of a high-level committee headed by Deputy Prime Minister and Defense Minister Ishawar Pokharel.

During the international flight suspension, Nepal has not allowed international flights on its sky except for those which arrived for humanitarian grounds. A number of foreign airlines arrived in Nepal to evacuate foreign nationals from Nepal after Nepal enforced flight suspensions. Domestic airlines recently mobilized to evacuate foreign nationals who were stranded in different parts of the country after the nationwide lockdown was imposed since March 24.

Although the high level committee discussed whether to continue or relax the ongoing lockdown which will last till April 27, it could not reach any decision, according to Bidari. He said that the next cabinet meeting would take necessary decisions regarding the lockdown. During the lockdown, no surface transportation service has been allowed except for supply of essential goods and most of the businesses have been closed except the essential ones.

Although COVID-19 fears continue due to the rising number of cases in recent days, there is also growing call particularly from the business community and economists to enforce complete lockdown only in risky zones while letting economic activities take place in other locations.

Nepal has so far reported 49 confirmed cases of COVID-19. None of the infected persons has died so far while 12 have returned home after recovery, according to Nepal's Ministry of Health and Population.

"We are on right track in combating the Coronavirus so far," Bidari said.