Indian carriers like Air India, SpiceJet, IndiGo resume flights to Kathmandu

NEW DELHI: Flight connectivity between Nepal and India resumed with Air India, SpiceJet, IndiGo and Jet Airways starting flights to Kathmandu on Sunday, a day after a devastating earthquake hit the Himalayan nation. The flights operated by airlines are carrying relief materials to Kathmandu free of cost.

The resumption of flights were, however, was halted due the closure of the Kathmandu airport at 1315 hours (India Time) on Sunday due to aftershocks, and flights on the way to Kathmandu had to be diverted to Delhi and some other Indian cities. An Indigo flight and an Air India flight on the way to Kathmandu were called back to Delhi as the ATC tower in Kathmandu was evacuated.

The flights resumed later after the airport was reopened. The Kathmandu airport was shut on Saturday following the massive quake struck Nepal, killing more than 2,200 people and injuring about 5,800.

All flights flying out of India are carrying relief material free of charge on priority basis and the airlines have also announced waiver of cancellation and refund charges. Airline sources also said the airlines have put an internal cap on fares to be charged from passengers flying to India from the quake-hit country. Air India and SpiceJet are operating additional flights to the Nepalese capital to bring back people and carry relief material.

While Air India has announced two additional flights on Sunday, SpiceJet is operating one extra flight late night on Sunday.

"Air India will operate as many flights to Kathmandu as required," a top Air India official told ET. Airline sources said that the Indian government has not asked for any support in the relief and rescue operations from the commercial airlines but, the civil aviation ministry did ask the airlines to update the government about their flight operations.