Air services to Nepal hit again after powerful aftershock

Air services to Kathmandu were hit again on Sunday as flights of Air India, SpiceJet and IndiGo failed to land in the earthquake-hit Nepalese capital and returned to New Delhi as ATC personnel at Tribhuvan International Airport were evacuated following a powerful aftershock.

However, Air India was able to operate two flight in the morning, one each from Delhi and Kolkata with 118 and 45 passengers on board.

The two flights returned with 135 and 45 passengers, an Air India spokesperson said.

Air India operates three services to Kathmandu including two daily services from the national capital. The Kolkata-Kathmandu-Kolkata flight is, however, operated four times a week.

Of the three regular services, Air India had operated only one flight on Saturday, which had departed much before the massive earthquake had hit the land-locked country.

Besides Air India, other domestic carriers had also cancelled their services to Kathmandu.

A SpiceJet spokesperson said that the airline was awaiting clearance from the Nepalese aviation authorities to resume the services adding, "We plan to combine the two flights and operate them as one later today depending on the situation."

SpiceJet operates two daily services to Kathmandu from the national capital.

A magnitude 6.7 aftershock shook the Kathmandu area of Nepal a day after the massive earthquake devastated the region, killing hundreds of people.

Image: Kathmandu airport shut after a fresh earthquake on Sunday. Photograph: Twitter