KATHMANDU, JUNE 19

The government today brought home 23 bodies of Nepalis that were stranded abroad since international flight to Nepal have been suspended since March 22 to prevent the spread of the coronavirus pandemic.

As per the Foreign Employment Promotion Board, the bodies will be handed over to the families of the respective victims in their hometowns.

The Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal said dead bodies were repatriated through Qatar Airlines from Qatar today, while one body each from Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and Dubai were also evacuated today.

“The bodies could not be brought home earlier following the suspension in international flights. However, the government is gradually evacuating bodies through repatriation flights being carried out to different countries to bring home stranded Nepalis,” said Dinbandu Subedi, information officer at FEPB.

Meanwhile, the government also repatriated 648 Nepalis stranded abroad today. While a chartered flight of Himalaya Airlines brought home 153 stranded Nepalis from Saudi Arabia, another flight of the same airlines evacuated 156 Nepalis from the Maldives.

Similarly, an aircraft of Jazeera Airlines repatriated 150 Nepalis from Kuwait, while a chartered flight of Nepal Airlines Corporation repatriated 146 Nepalis from Dubai. An aircraft of Qatar Airways evacuated 43 stranded Nepalis from Qatar, added CAAN.

As per the repatriation flight schedule, NAC will repatriate Nepalis from Cyprus, Malaysia and Qatar on June 20, while Himalaya Airlines will repatriate passengers from the UAE and Bangladesh on that date.

On June 21, NAC will conduct repatriation flights from South Korea and Oman, while Himalaya Airlines will conduct flights from Kuwait and Malaysia. Repatriation flights from Australia and Thailand will be conducted on June 22 by NAC, while Himalaya Airlines will go to Pakistan and Qatar to bring back stranded Nepalis.

NAC will fly to Japan and Maldives, while Himalaya Airlines will fly to Uganda, on June 23.

The national flag carrier has flights scheduled for Saudi Arabia and Kuwait on June 24. On June 25, NAC will fly to the United States, while Himalaya Airlines will bring back stranded Nepali citizens from Cyprus and Israel.

A version of this article appears in e-paper on June 20, 2020, of The Himalayan Times.