The French and German governments on Saturday launched a joint mission to repatriate their citizens from Nepal which has been under a lockdown since Tuesday morning to stem the spread of Covid-19.

Two Qatar Airways planes evacuated more than 600 passengers on Saturday.

The first plane took off at 11:47am with 303 foreigners, said Chandra Lal Karna, spokesperson for Tribhuvan International Airport. "The second plane chartered by the French government with 305 foreigners on board will take off soon.”

On Friday also, a Qatar Airways flight chartered by the German government had evacuated as many as 303 foreigners from Nepal.

Meanwhile, Nepal Airlines’ Airbus A330 plane left Kathmandu for Guangzhou, China to bring medical equipment provided by the Chinese government.