KATHMANDU: The European Union (EU) is taking back its citizens through chartered flights amid the lockdown enforced in Nepal to curb the spread of coronavirus.

The plane is expected to arrive in Kathmandu on Friday, sources said.

The EU has sought permission from the Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal (CAAN) for the same, sources said.

More than 700 EU nationals are still in Kathmandu anticipating to go back home. The chartered flight is expected to take back the foreign nationals in turn.

It has been learned that the German Embassy in Kathmandu has booked 2 flights for Friday and Saturday to rescue German citizens to Germany.

Meanwhile, America, South Korea, Japan, and Australia are also planning to take back their citizens from Nepal at the earliest.

A number of countries around the world are either evacuating or planning to evacuate their citizens from various countries.

It should be noted that Nepal, too, had evacuated 175 of its nationals from Wuhan of China.

Meanwhile, a chartered plane of Buddha Air is bringing some 50 French nationals from Pokhara to Kathmandu today, CAAN Spokesperson Raj Kumar Chhetri said.