India Allows Indonesian Humanitarian Aircraft to Pass to Nepal

Reporting by A Fitriyanti Dhaka (Antara) - India has allowed Indonesian Air Force\'s Boeing 737 en route to Kathmandu carrying an evacuation team and humanitarian aid to pass through its airspace. The aircraft was held up for three hours in Dhaka, Bangladesh, after landing at 5:30 a.m. local time, on Thursday. According to the head of the sub-directorate for citizen protection and legal entities, Indonesia has earlier received a permit for the aircraft to pass through Indian airspace en route to Nepal, but on Thursday morning, the Indian authorities canceled the permit. \"We negotiated again with them, assisted by lobbying by the Indonesian ambassador in Dhaka, and finally, a flight clearance was obtained,\" he revealed. The Indonesian ambassador to Bangladesh and Nepal Iwan Winataatmadja joined the team to Nepal. He had tried to enter Nepal on several earlier occasions but failed as the airport in Nepal had been shut down due to damage caused by a 7.9-magnitude quake on April 25. The Indonesian aircraft is expected to arrive at Tribhuvan Airport in Kathmandu, Nepal, at 10:30 a.m. local time. The aircraft carried 70 officials from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Indonesian Defense Forces (TNI), the National Disaster Mitigation Agency (BNPB), newsmen, and several members of social organizations. The Indonesian government has sent emergency aid such as tents, blankets, medical supplies, medicines, baby food, and fast food. According to the directorate of citizen protection and legal entities of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs\' records, 95 Indonesian citizens have been living in Nepal including 65 visitors. (*)