-KATHMANDU; ANN
A private domestic jet carrier today, flew to Tunisia to bring back the body of Nepal Army Soldier (सिपाही), who passed away during his appointment there in a United Nations Peace Keeping Force Mission.
Shree Airlines’ CRJ bombardier aircraft (9N-AMB) left today morning after being assigned to airlift the body of the deceased, amid government-imposed nationwide lockdown. The flight took off from Tribhuvan International Airport and will have a technical stop in Muscat and Cario, both ways.
According to Spokesperson of Nepal Army, Brigadier General Bigyan Dev Pandey, the Shree Airlines flight left for Tunisia with the help of UN Headquarters in New York. He added that the Ministry of Foreign Affairs took permission to fly through the airspace of India, Pakistan, Oman, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, and Libya. The cost of the charter will be provided by the United Nations.
The aircraft with the deceased is expected to reach its destination on Thursday night and come back to Kathmandu tomorrow. The aircraft after arriving Kathmandu will be sent to Jhapa.
The Soldier (सिपाही) was from Jhapa District and was stationed in Libya for United Nations Peace Keeping Force Mission. He passed away after suffering a heart attack.
Earlier, a CRJ-700 aircraft of Shree Airlines flew to Sudan chartered by the Nepal Army to retrieve the human remains of an Army Officer designated Lieutenant Colonel appointed in United Nations Peace Keeping Mission at Sudan. The aircraft also flew to Singapore to fetch Medical Goods to fight against the COVID-19 pandemic.
Shree Airlines has a mutual agreement with UN to mobilized its airplanes and helicopters in the peacekeeping missions.
Because of the lockdown and regular flight schedules suspension, a very complex synchronization has to be made to conduct each flight and the flights must have a special reason to be conducted. This will be the second international flight on behalf of the carrier and both done during the lockdown of the entire nation and various parts of the world.
