Nepal flights impacted as Kathmandu airport shut down

NEW DELHI: The Gen Z protest in Nepal on Tuesday impacted multiple flights of all airlines, including Indian, as youth protesting the social media ban order — which the govt was forced to withdraw — set fires near Kathmandu Airport (KTM code).

Some flights hovered for a while at KTM before either diverting or returning to their origin stations in India. Others were cancelled. By afternoon Nepal aviation authorities issued a notice to airmen (NOTAM) about Kathmandu airport being closed. Now flights can resume only after this NOTAM is lifted.Air India has six flights to and from KTM, mostly from Delhi. On Tuesday two early morning flights managed to operate between Delhi & KTM.

The third, AI 217, took off from IGI Airport 11.38 am on Tuesday. It hovered near KTM for a while before the pilots decided to return to Delhi due to “smoke at final approach of KTM” and landed at IGIA at 3.10 pm. The other three flights were cancelled.An AI spokesperson said: “In view of the current situation prevailing in Kathmandu, (four) flights AI2231/2232, AI2219/2220, AI217/218 and AI211/212 operating on the Delhi-Kathmandu-Delhi route have been cancelled Tuesday.

We are closely monitoring the situation and will share further updates. At Air India, the safety of our passengers and crew remain top priority.”At least two IndiGo flights — 6E1153 (Delhi to Kathmandu) and 6E1157 (Mumbai-Kathmandu) hovered near KTM for a while on Tuesday before diverting to Lucknow and Delhi, respectively.Air India Express has a daily between Bengaluru and KTM, which operated on Tuesday morning. Comments have been sought from other airlines.Five Delhi-KTM flights on which 801 passengers were booked to travel were cancelled Tuesday, including three of Air India and one each of IndiGo and Nepal Airlines.