Stranded in Nepal: Lukla and Pokhara Update (29-Mar-2020)Sunday, March 29th, 2020

Kathmandu, March 29, 2020

The ‘Crisis Communication Unit’, of Nepal Tourism Board(NTB), led by Executive Chief Dr. Dhananjay Regmi, has been successful in bringing 158 people stranded in Lukla that includes international and domestic tourists, Nepalese guides and porters to Kathmandu on 29th March, 2020. 56 of them were brought via Tara Air, 51 from Summit Air and 51 from Sita Air. The flights were operated in coordination with Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal(CAAN), U.S. Embassy, British Embassy, Embassy of Russia, local government bodies, airlines and tourist police.

Likewise, Nepal Tourism Board facilitated in embassy led rescue of international tourists from Pokhara. Out of 133 tourists rescued from Pokhara today, 68 were British, 44 American and 21 South-Korean nationals. As of today, March 29, NTB has been successful in rescuing a total of 1,255 travelers within the country. NTB has given top priority in following the health and safety guidelines set by the government during all rescue operations.

Also, in order to comply with the lockdown rules set by the government, all vehicle services related to the rescue of international tourists have been suspended for now. The rescue in future will be scheduled as per requirement upon the confirmation of next outbound flights and as per special request of diplomatic missions only.