KATHMANDU: A Qatar Airways aircraft left for France from Kathmandu carrying 309 tourists of 54 countries who were stranded here due the government-imposed lockdown and global travel restrictions to curb the spread of coronavirus infection.

The flight, which was chartered by the French Embassy in Nepal, will reach Paris in France via Doha in Qatar, according to Tribhuvan International Airport (TIA). Nationals of various European countries along with those of South Africa, Israel, USA, Canada, among others are travelling in the chartered flight.

This is the eleventh flight conducted by Qatar Airways during the lockdown period.

The government decided continue halting the operation of international and domestic flights till May 15 as a precautionary measure against the spread of COVID-19. Prior to this, the High-Level Coordination Committee for Prevention and Control of COVID-19 had decided to halt both domestic and international flight operation till the end of April.