January 20: Although the government has made antigen test mandatory for passengers of domestic flights, the Airline's Operators' Association of Nepal (AOAN) is of the view that air travel can be made by submitting vaccination card.

AOAN insists that air travel can be done by showing the vaccination card at the airport.

A meeting of the executive committee of the association held on Wednesday has decided make air travel easy for passengers by accepting a digital copy of vaccination card that passengers can show from their mobile phones.

A meeting of the Council of Ministers held on December 12 had directed the airline companies to conduct an antigen of the passengers. Despite the decision of the Council of Ministers to conduct antigen tests from January 22, the association decided to hold a meeting on Wednesday and announced that passengers should be allowed to travel by showing their vaccination card.

The association has issued a notice making it mandatory to use the anti-Covid card for air travel. The association has stated that other necessary measures will be implemented for the prevention and control of the new variant of Covid-19 while adhering to health safety standards during domestic flights.

AOAN has also set rules for airlines to follow. According to AOAN, airlines should provide sanitizers inside airplanes, disinfect the aircraft and baggage after each flight, and impose public health standards.

Airline companies have stepped up health standards as the new variant of Covid-19 - omicron – has spread rapidly in many parts of the country. A few days ago, Buddha Air surveyed 1,895 individuals and found that 95 percent of the passengers were vaccinated.