Outbound migrant workers who were scheduled to fly to Malaysia and Gulf countries, those scheduled to fly back to Kathmandu, and passengers who were supposed to fly back to their countries from TIA and those planning to arrive have been stranded after flight cancellation since Wednesday morning.

At least 5,000 Nepalis who were supposed to fly to different work destinations, including Malaysia and Gulf countries, could not board their flight from TIA on Thursday as well. Hundreds of them waited outside the TIA throughout the day in hopes of flight resumption. Many had no clue that the TIA was temporarily shut to clear the Turkish Airbus A330 from the runway.

“Many of our friends are facing problem as they came with limited budget. Since the manpower companies are not providing any help, we have been lookinga after one another,” said Santosh Bhatta of Makwanpur. Bhatta and others had arrived at TIA to board a flight to Qatar.

Government officials said many airlines companies and their agents had not informed their passengers about flight cancellation.

 “It’s unfortunate that many migrant workers are going through unwanted hassles despite our repeated request to the concerned stakeholders to inform the passengers,” said Purna Chudal, manager of Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal.

Passengers who were supposed to board the planes to Kathmandu from arports in Qatar and United Arab Emirates (UAE) are also stuck in transit hotels and airport lounges due to flight cancellation. 

More than 1,000 people, including Nepali migrant workers, fly to Kathmandu from these transits on a daily basis. Many international carriers, including Qatar Airways, Air Arabia, Dubai Air and Oman Air, either cancelled or delayed their flight to Kathmandu after the Turkish Airlines plane crash-landed at TIA.

  Qatar Airways, which caters the maximum number of flights to Kathmandu, closed its Nepal-dedicated ticket counters after TIA announced flight cancellation.

 “The Airways has been taking the passengers’ contact numbers and turning them away, assuring them to call them once the flights resume,” said Rajeshwor Dhakal, a Nepali migrant worker.

Nepali migrant worker Raghun Yadav, who hails from Saptari, was stranded at the Hamad International Airport since Tuesday.

Shambhu Bastola, station manager of Nepal Airlines, said they had to put up more than 116 passengers in a hotel due to flight cancellation.

Inside the Abu Dhabi Airport in UAE, hundreds of passengers, among them Nepali migrants who had come from Saudi Arabia, Bahrain and Kuwait, were stranded in transit.

In a telephone conversation with the Post, Siddha Thapa of Ramechhap said many of them did not have enough money to buy a proper meal.

They had booked their tickets for an Air Arabia flight, a budget airline that does not offer any service to its passengers in case of flight cancellation.

Scores of Nepali migrants were also stuck at Muscat International Airport in Oman. Among them was Rina Rai of Nuwakot. She had travelled nearly 1,000 km to board the flight from Oman’s capital.

 “I reached Muscat only to be stranded at the airport,” Rai complained. “I don’t know how long I have to remain here.”