Air India, SpiceJet, IndiGo all Resume Flights to Kathmandu

Tuesday, 28th April 2015 at 13:58pm

Air India, SpiceJet and IndiGo will all resume flights from India to Kathmandu, Nepal. This was decided after a shattering earthquake hit Nepal, killing over 2,200 and injuring about 5,800 people there.

The three carriers have started operating their flights only a day after the earthquake hit the Himalayan nation on Sunday, but the aftershocks near the airport at Kathmandu at around 1:15 P.M local time, forced them to halt the flights. All flights that were bound from India to Kathmandu at the time had to be diverted back home.

Once the airport was back working, the services were resumed.

All three Indian carriers will also be delivering relief material for Nepal. In addition, Air India, SpiceJet and IndiGo have all decided to waive any refund and ticket cancellation charges.

Air India and SpiceJet have also decided to bring in more flights to Kathmandu, which will be used to bring back people and relief material.

A senior Air India official said the following:

"Air India will operate as many flights to Kathmandu as required."

According to sources in India, the government of this country has not specifically asked any of its carriers for support in rescue and relief operations for Nepal, but the civil aviation ministry did ask the carriers to give an update on their flight operations.

Indian Airlines Operating Rescue Flights for Kathmandu

Largest carrier in India, Air India has sent four flights to Kathmandu, three from Delhi and one from Varanasi. This brought back 400 passengers to India. The plan was to operate seven flights in total, but not enough parking bays at the Kathmandu Airport prevented that.

SpiceJet managed to transport more than 500 Indian travelers back home on three flights between Delhi and Kathmandu. Two of these were already scheduled, while one was a relief flight.

Finally, IndiGo has also operated two flights between Delhi and Kathmandu, one scheduled and one relief, and has also sent a support team to the Nepal capital.

By: Pete Lee.