Kathmandu, Jul 1 (IANS): The Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal (CAAN) has approved a month-long schedule for domestic and foreign airlines to conduct international flights to and from 11 destinations abroad, an official said.

According to a notice, the CAAN has greenlighted 21 flights per week from and to 11 foreign destinations from Thursday to July 31, reports Xinhua news agency.

It is the first time for Nepal to approve so many flights to so many destinations since the South Asian country went into a lockdown in late April to contain a second wave of the Covid-19 pandemic.

As per the CAAN's notice, the designated airlines can conduct flights to and from New Delhi; Doha; Istanbul; Dubai, Sharjah and Abu Dhabi; Dammam;, Kuwait; Muscat; Kuala Lumpur and Narita.

CAAN spokesman Raj Kumar Chhetri told Xinhua that the latest decision came following consultations with the airlines after the Nepali government decided to increase the number of destinations for the resumption of international flights.

Chhetri noted that there would be only one-way flights from Dubai, Sharjah and Abu Dhabi to Kathmandu as the United Arab Emirates does not allow travel from the Himalayan nation for now.

"Flights to Istanbul can take place only for transit purpose," he added.

According to Chhetri, the airlines did not request slots for flights to South Korea and China in July.

Meanwhile, Nepal will resume its suspended domestic flights on Thursday, but with capacity cut by half for each flight, the CAAN said.

Nepal has eased restrictive measures while extending the lockdown in the Kathmandu Valley for the last two weeks due to declining cases.