KATHMANDU: Sep 4, A chartered Omni Air International flight carrying 37 Nepali nationals deported from the United States has been delayed due to technical issues.
The charter company had earlier submitted a schedule to Tribhuvan International Airport stating that the flight would land in Kathmandu at 2 p.m. on Wednesday. However, the Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal said that the aircraft is now scheduled to arrive in Kathmandu at 7 p.m. on Thursday.
According to Nepali authorities, the U.S. Embassy in Kathmandu informed them that the aircraft had encountered mechanical issues, which led to the delay.
BIMSTEC Charter enters into force nearly three decades after it...
The plane is scheduled to first land in Pakistan to drop off Pakistani immigrants before arriving in Nepal. TIA officials said the flight has not yet landed in Pakistan. After arriving in Kathmandu at 7 p.m. today, the aircraft will return to the U.S. via Dhaka.
Since assuming office for his second term on January 20, 2025, President Donald Trump has enforced a stricter policy on deporting undocumented immigrants, including those from Nepal.
This is not the first time Nepalis have been deported from the U.S. A total of 35 were deported in 2021, 22 in 2022, 24 in 2023, and 52 in 2024. Most had entered the U.S. illegally through agents or human traffickers.
On August 21, a U.S. federal appeals court sided with the Trump administration, allowing it to end Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for migrants from Nepal and two other countries. The ruling affected about 7,000 Nepalis whose TPS expired on August 5. TPS is granted by the U.S. Secretary of Homeland Security to protect migrants from deportation and provide work permits when returning to their home country is deemed unsafe due to disasters, political instability, or other risks.
