File: Tenzing Hillary Airport (Lukla Airport)

Kathmandu, Nepal’s civil aviation regulator, the Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal (CAAN), says Kathmandu’s Tribhuvan International Airport will stop operating Lukla flights that passengers use to reach the Everest region.

From now onwards, all flights will operate from the Manthali airport in Ramechhap, some 130 km away. Tourists and others based in Kathmandu, willing to fly to Lukla’s Tenzing Hillary Airport, will have to travel to Manthali via road, and it will take some five hours.

This rule meant to decrease the traffic pressure at Kathmandu airport was in existence before the Covid pandemic, but it was halted due to difficulties in maintaining travel restrictions required for the pandemic control.

But, with the situation coming back to normalcy, the Lukla flights will take off Manthali airport from Sunday again.

Tourism and Civil Aviation Minister Jeevan Ram Shrestha and CAAN Director General Pradeep Adhikari visited the Manthali airport to check its status on Thursday.