India-Nepal Indians use Nepal to escape travel ban
Indians with jobs or families abroad are using Kathmandu as a transit to fly off to countries like Saudi Arabia, Singapore and Hong Kong that have banned direct flights from Covid-battered India, Nepal Times reported.
Despite the spike in the infection in Nepal, neither India nor Nepal and destination countries have so far stopped the roundabout route.
The airfares between the two countries has shot up several times on the two Kathmandu-bound flights from New Delhi.
While the 75-minute Kathmandu-Delhi flights cost Rs9,000 this week, Delhi-Kathmandu tickets are selling for up to Rs45,000.
“Yes, there is an increase in demand for tickets due to large numbers of Indian travelling to Kathmandu, so it is not possible to sell cheaper tickets,” Nepal Airlines Managing Director Dim Prasad Poudel said.
The number of Indians flying to Kathmandu from New Delhi has doubled in the past two months. There were 8,727 Indians arriving in Kathmandu from 1-18 April, while the number was only 4,763 in the whole of February, the report said.
Flights between New Delhi and Kathmandu were partially restored after India and Nepal had an ‘air bubble’ agreement, and the route is served by Air India and Nepal Airlines.
Up to 400 Indian workers are leaving Kathmandu every day for Saudi Arabia, Singapore, Hong Kong and other countries after spending two weeks in Kathmandu hotels. Between 1-18 April, 5,250 Indian flew out of Kathmandu airport.
Nepal Airlines has now approached the Indian civil aviation authorities for permission to resume flights to Mumbai and Bengaluru. However, with the number of new Covid-19 cases in Indian reaching 300,000 a day, the carrier may have to rethink that plan.
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