As many as 300 foreigners stranded in Nepal were evacuated on a Qatar Airways flight on Friday morning, as various countries began to repatriate their citizens after days of travel restrictions.

Foreign visitors from around the world have been stuck in Nepal since the country imposed a nationwide lockdown on Tuesday, suspending all domestic and international passenger flights, including surface travel.

“A special chartered Qatar Airways flight carrying 300 foreigners took off from Tribhuvan International Airport at 11:30 am today,” said an official of Qatar Airways. The plane was chartered by the German government.

"We have two more flights on Saturday, one each chartered by the governments of France and Germany," the official told the Post.

The US and Australian governments have also announced special chartered flights to take their citizens back home, but their flight schedules have not been announced.

"We are planning flights for other countries next week," the official said.

The US and Australian governments are currently airlifting their citizens to Kathmandu from different trekking areas.

The Australian embassy, which had secured a special permit to evacuate its citizens from Lukla, brought 14 of its citizens to Kathmandu on Friday via a Tara Air flight.

Ang Tashi Sherpa, a rescue specialist, said that there are 80-90 foreigners stranded in Lukla.

"As all eateries and shops have been closed down. The Khumbu Pasang Lhamu Rural Municipality has been providing free lodging and food to the stranded tourists," he said.

In an email circulated to its citizens, the Embassy of South Korea has also stated that it has secured permission for a special flight on March 30 to evacuate its citizens.

On Thursday, the Ministry of Culture, Tourism and Civil Aviation granted permission for two special chartered flights from Germany, on behalf of the European Union, to evacuate their nationals, according to Suresh Acharya, joint-secretary at the ministry who looks after aviation affairs.

Although diplomatic missions apply for permission at the Foreign Ministry, it is the Civil Aviation Ministry that grants permission.

On Wednesday, a meeting of the high-level coordination committee headed by Deputy Prime Minister Ishwar Pokhrel decided to also allow foreign countries to evacuate their citizens from Nepal.

Although exact data on how many foreigners are currently in Nepal is unavailable, the Nepal Tourism Board, the country’s tourism promotion body, has estimated that there could be around 2,000 individuals, including some 300 in various trekking areas. The figure excludes foreigners working in diplomatic missions, embassies and INGOs/NGOs.

The government on Tuesday imposed a week-long lockdown across the country to prevent the spread of Covid-19, halting all flights and vehicular movements, except for during emergencies, across the country. The lockdown is likely to continue for longer.

On Thursday, the US Embassy in Kathmandu formally requested the Nepal government to help the embassy facilitate the departure of American citizens from Nepal, according to officials at the Foreign Ministry.

“[We are] working really hard to get British nationals who want to leave, back to Kathmandu and home,” British Ambassador to Nepal Nicola Pollitt wrote on Twitter on Thursday, calling for patience from its citizens, many of whom commented saying they were running out of supplies and places to go eat.

Buddha Air on Thursday airlifted 58 French nationals from Pokhara while Tara Air and a few other helicopter companies rescued 20 trekkers from Lukla, the gateway to Mt Everest.

Nepal has so far reported three cases of Covid-19.

This article has been updated to correct some factual errors.