Nepal to resume domestic, international flights from August 17

Kathmandu: Nepal will resume commercial domestic and international flights from August 17, said the country's Tourism Minister Yogesh Bhattarai.

The decision was taken during a cabinet meeting held on Monday evening.

"A decision has been made to resume domestic and international flight operations. The decision was made during today's Cabinet meeting," Bhattarai said.

"We now will develop the protocol about operation of the flights which would be strictly followed," Bhattarai added.

In May, Nepal had banned domestic and international flights following the imposition of nationwide lockdown in the wake of rising COVID-19 cases in the Himalayan nation.

The ban, however, was not applicable for evacuation flights carried out by various countries to repatriate their stranded citizens.

Thousands of stranded tourists were flown out of Nepal during the lockdown while Kathmandu has brought in its citizens from various countries mostly from the Middle East.