Nepal's King Gyanendra declared on Friday evening to dissolve the Council of Ministers, or cabinet, formed under his chairmanship in February last year and gave up his power of the state to the Nepalese people.

Addressing the nation through state-run Radio Nepal and Nepal Television at 7 pm local time (1315 GMT), the king declared to dissolve the cabinet, and asked the seven-opposition-political-party alliance to recommend the name of a new prime minister as soon as possible.

"According to the constitution of Nepal, we have returned the power of the state to the people," the king said in the royal proclamation, adding, "the present cabinet will continue to function until the new government is formed."

The announcement came after a two-week nationwide general strike and prolonged curfew in Kathmandu.

The Nepalese Government imposed an 18-hour curfew on Thursday in the capital and surrounding areas ahead of a planned rally by opponents of the Nepali king.

All domestic airlines under the Airline Operations Association of Nepal stalled operations on Thursday, while the Royal Nepal Airlines Corporation (RNAC) failed to operate its scheduled domestic flights, including one where passengers had already checked in, an official at Tribhuwan International Airport in Kathmandu said on Friday.

"Quite a few passengers, who reached the airport despite security and curfew hurdles, were all set to board the plane. However, their flights were cancelled since RNAC crew members failed to show up," managing director of RNAC, Mohan Khanal, told reporters about one particular flight.

It should have cancelled its flights in advance instead of causing inconvenience to passengers, the official said.

He said they were forced to cancel the particular flight due to time restrictions since its crew members reached the airport late.

Khanal admitted that it was extremely difficult to get crew members and staff to the airport without a single curfew pass and with limited security escorts on a day such as Thursday.

The national carrier and all the other international airlines including Qatar Airways, Gulf Air, Druk Air, Thai Airways, Indian Airlines, with the exception of Biman Bangladesh, smoothly operated their international flights on Thursday, he said.

The airport, the only international airport in the country, manages around 30 incoming and outbound flights every day.

Source: China Daily