KATHMANDU, April 3: Nepal Airlines Corporation (NAC) operated a chartered flight on Thursday to bring medical supplies from Guangzhou, China.

The national carrier operated its wide-body Airbus A330 for the flight. The aircraft, which took off from Kathmandu at 11:25 am on Thursday, landed at Kathmandu airport at 10:30 pm. The flight duration between Kathmandu and Guangzhou is four hours.“The aircraft is bringing medical supplies weighing around 24 tons,” Archana Khadka, the spokesperson at the NAC, told Republica. “The flight was chartered by a private party.”

NAC has inked an agreement with Flash Freight Logistics, a freight forwarding service provider, for handling of the cargo.

NAC had operated its first chartered flight on Sunday to bring medical supplies for the government. The flight brought 13 tons of medical supplies, including 100,000 sets of PPE and 50,000 units of COVID-19 testing kits, among other items the next day. It also brought medical supplies donated by the Chinese Embassy in Kathmandu, Sichuan Province of China, Alibaba Foundation, Jack Ma Foundation, China CAMC Engineering Company Ltd and Sichuan Haushi Group Company Ltd.

The state-owned carrier has so far operated three chartered flights during the lockdown. Two were cargo flights from China, while one chartered flights carried 250 passengers to Brisbane, Australia.

After flying passengers to Brisbane, the aircraft returned back to Kathmandu at 10:40 pm on Thursday. “It made a refueling stop at Kuala Lumpur,” she added.

Nepal has suspended both domestic and international flights until April 15. However, airlines operators can seek permission to operate special chartered flights for rescue or emergency purpose.

 
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