Kathmandu, Jan. 16 -- The autumn travel rush has pulled Nepal Airlines back from the brink of bankruptcy as full-fare passengers filled its flights, allowing the teetering national flag carrier to repay creditors breathing down its neck.

After having missed three quarterly instalments, Nepal Airlines said it paid Rs572 million to the Citizens Investment Trust on Wednesday, and set aside Rs440 million for the Employees Provident Fund to whom payment is due on January 29.

Out of the total amount, Rs348.5 million is for the repayment of the principal and interest for its narrow body Airbus A320 jets, and the rest for the wide body A330 jets. "We have cleared only 50 percent of the outstanding loans for the wide body aircraft, and the remai...