SriLankan Airlines suspends flights to Nepal

SriLankan Airlines announced that all flights to Nepal have been temporarily suspended until further notice. 

Most airlines, including Indian carriers, have suspended flights after Tribhuvan International Airport (TIA) in Kathmandu was forced to shut down on Tuesday afternoon amid escalating violence in the country, grounding hundreds of passengers and cancelling multiple services.

Indian media reported that as the day progressed and the situation worsened, multiple Kathmandu-bound flights hovered near the city before diverting or returning to India. Subsequently, airlines suspended flights.

By Tuesday afternoon, Nepal aviation authorities issued a notice to airmen (NOTAM) about Kathmandu airport being closed. Now flights can resume only after this NOTAM is lifted.

The airport’s closure has disrupted more than 250 daily flights that the airport usually handles, spanning carriers such as Air India, IndiGo, Fly Dubai, Air Arabia, Singapore Airlines and Batik Air.