Scores of passengers, including those from Mumbai, were stuck on Saturday after the cancellation of several flights to Nepal following a major earthquake there. Many other foreign flights also got diverted to India as Kathmandu airport was shut.
Airlines said they are keeping an eye on the development in Nepal. Any further flight movement to the neighbouring country will happen only after the Nepalese aviation regulator gives its nod.
An IndiGo flight for Nepal, which left at 11.30am, was called back and the departures of two others were cancelled, according to authorities here. The earthquake struck at 11.41am.
A SpiceJet spokesperson said, "Due to the earthquake, Kathmandu airport is closed and SpiceJet's flights to Kathmandu are currently on hold. Passengers travelling to Nepal should check with SpiceJet before heading for the airport."
Air India said its flights to Katmandu from Delhi and Kolkata have been cancelled. Jet Airways too said four of its flights between Mumbai and Katmandu have been cancelled. One of the Jet Airways flights had to be diverted to Lucknow.
Chairman of the tourism council at Travel Agents Association of India Jay Bhatia said, "About eight of our passengers are in Kathmandu currently. We are unable to connect with them at the moment. We still do not the situation and are awaiting feedback. Our aim is to find out our passengers' condition and ensure that they are brought back to India safely. We are hoping to fly them back home tomorrow."
The city airport was declared open for operations five hours later, with a Jet Airways flight to Delhi and a Qatar Airways flight to Doha being among the first ones to take off.
