September 21: Domestic flights have resumed in Nepal on Monday after almost six months of ban, which was imposed to curb the spread of coronavirus.

The government has allowed private companies to operate only 25 percent of flights compared to normal days.

Airline companies such as Buddha Air and Yeti Airlines offered pre booking service since last Friday. More than 70 percent seats of all airline companies have been booked, the airline operators informed on Sunday.

Shree Airlines will be opening bookings only after a few days, informed the company’s manager Anil Manandhar.

Buddha Air confirmed 70 percent bookings as of Sunday evening (September 20). Buddha Air’s manager Rupesh Shrestha informed New Business Age that they have received permission to operate 17 flights on Monday (September 21).

Meanwhile, Yeti Airlines’ spokesperson Sudarshan Bartaula said that the company will be operating 11 flights a day.

Nepal Airlines Corporation, the state-owned company of Nepal, has also unveiled its flights schedule. As per the schedule, the flag carrier of Nepal will conduct 10 flights a day to various  destinations.

The Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal (CAAN) informed that the airline companies have been allowed to resume flights by following health safety standards set by the government and the international protocols of the ICAO.

People with symptoms of coronavirus will be barred from flights. The airports have been instructed to check the body temperatures of the passengers twice and to follow contactless check-in, maintain physical distance and use hand sanitizers for the passengers. The passengers have also been instructed to compulsorily wear masks and visors. 

The airline companies have been permitted to carry passengers in full capacity and so the airfare has not increased. Although the government had lifted a ban on domestic flights from September 17, the airline operators had suspended flights demanding operating flights in full capacity.

The government had earlier decided to allow private airliners to resume flights with 50 percent passengers. But the government later backtracked from its decision and agreed to the demand of the airline operators.