Fresh tremors disrupt air traffic

Fresh tremors experienced on Sunday afternoon have affected the ongoing rescue and relief operation mounted by Indian carriers. Soon after the tremor, the Kathmandu airport was closed at 1.15 pm (India time). As a result, flights enroute Kathmandu had to be diverted to other Indian cities or Delhi. And aircraft that were on ground, preparing to fly for Nepal, have been asked to stay on hold.

A Spice Jet flight SG041, from Delhi to Kathmandu, returned to Delhi and was waiting for ground clearance at 3.20 pm to take off again for Kathmandu, while a Jet Airways flight NW266 from Mumbai to Kathmandu was diverted to Lucknow and flights NW264 and NW263 operated as per schedule and returned to Delhi at 11.30 am.

Several flights of Indian carriers, carrying friends and family members of the people stranded in the quake-struck Kathmandu, could not 

land at the Tribhuvan International Airport on Sunday after the air traffic control (ATC) staff at Nepal’s only 

international airport were evacuated in the wake of the aftershock.

Meanwhile, as many as 18 players and five support staff members, who had gone to Nepal to take part in an Asian Football Confederation regional tournament, landed at the Delhi airport at around 5:45pm on an IAF Aircraft C-17 on Sunday. They were among the 237 persons, who had boarded the aircraft from Kathmandu.