Air India and IndiGo operated a combined 24 flights to and from Kathmandu on Thursday — 12 services each — evacuating roughly 2,800 passengers as normal operations resumed at Tribhuvan International Airport following a multi-day shutdown.
The flights were part of a coordinated response after widespread protests in Kathmandu forced the airport to suspend services earlier in the week. Authorities and carriers moved to run special and regular services once the airport reopened, prioritising passengers stranded in the Nepali capital.
India’s civil aviation ministry and airline officials said carriers were advised to keep fares reasonable for the rescue operations and to work with government agencies to ensure smooth repatriation. Air India also operated a Delhi–Kathmandu–Delhi rotation overnight that carried about 300 people ahead of the larger Thursday operations.
The resumption of these flights follows a period of cancellations and temporary suspensions by several carriers amid security concerns; operators emphasised continued monitoring of the situation in Nepal and urged passengers to check flight status before travel.
