KATHMANDU: Nepal Airlines Corporation (NAC) is all set to start Kathmandu-New Delhi bubble flights from December 16 upon receiving approval from Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal (CAAN). The national flag carrier is expecting a green signal from CAAN on Tuesday following which the flight schedules too would be released. According to the NAC, one flight will be conducted on a daily basis. A meeting of the Council of Ministers held on November 25 had decided to resume flights from the capital to the Indian capital. The flights are resuming under the bilateral ‘air bubble’ concept. The air bubble concept is a bilateral arrangement between two countries under which airlines from both countries can operate international flights with a set of regulations and restrictions. As per an NAC source, the national flag carrier is all set to begin flights to India from December 16, with the first flight taking off for New Delhi from Kathmandu. Though the government had resumed international flights partially in September, flights to India have yet to begin. Stakeholders have been requesting the government to resume Nepal-India flights without delay. Before the lockdown, two Nepali airlines — NAC and Buddha Air — and three Indian Airlines — Air India, Vistara and Indigo — had been operating flights on Nepal-India route. NAC has claimed that flights will be operated by following the health safety measures set by CAAN and International Civil Aviation Organisation. CAAN has issued ‘Guidance to Airlines, Airports and Ground Services for Operations during COV- ID-19’ to regulate the aviation sector during pandemic. Airline operators have also issued their own Standard Operating Procedures, under which the flights are being operated. What is an air bubble?

• An air bubble is a bilateral agreement between two countries wherein a travel corridor is re-established
• It brings relief to passengers who wish to travel but have been unable to do so
• It is a way for countries to reopen borders and control the number of passengers coming in
• India already has signed travel agreements with the USA and several European and Asian countries