Coronavirus pandemic

SilkAir passengers held up in Nepal over flight ban confusion

In a file photo taken on March 12, 2019, a SilkAir Boeing plane sits on the tarmac at Changi Airport. ST PHOTO: CHONG JUN LIANG

A SilkAir flight from Singapore ran into trouble upon landing in Nepal at the weekend, with passengers not allowed to get off the plane as the authorities deliberated over whether the presence of a passenger from Europe contravened coronavirus-related flight bans.

The flight, which landed at Tribhuvan International Airport in Kathmandu last Saturday, had a passenger from the Netherlands. Nearly all of the other passengers were Nepalese nationals.

Nepal, which has reported one coronavirus case so far, had banned transit passengers from Europe, as well as all flights from Europe.

The Nepali Times, an English weekly newspaper, said there was confusion over different government orders and Nepal's Civil Aviation Authority had threatened to send the plane back to Singapore.

The aircraft, which carried some 85 passengers, was eventually allowed to land for refuelling but passengers were not allowed to disembark. For three hours, the plane remained on the tarmac with passengers becoming increasingly angry.

"After refuelling, the pilot was trying to take off when (the) passengers created a ruckus. The pilot conveyed that he would not fly with angry passengers," said Nepal-based journalist Yubaraj Ghimire.

The Nepali Times reported that passengers started calling relatives and piling on political pressure, leading to intervention by Tourism and Civil Aviation Minister Yogesh Bhattarai.

The newspaper reported that he made the point that it would send the wrong message internationally if Nepal refused to allow entry to its own citizens. "This happened because there is a lot of confusion and a lack of clarity on government policy," said Mr Ghimire.

The passengers were allowed to disembark. Three were put under quarantine.

The confusion over multiple government orders is now seen to have been sorted out, with Nepal banning all international flights starting from yesterday till March 31.

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A version of this article appeared in the print edition of The Straits Times on March 23, 2020, with the headline SilkAir passengers held up in Nepal over flight ban confusion. Subscribe