Sukilumba Airport closed for two months

ILAM, July 29: Ilam’s Sukilumba Airport has been closed for the past two months due to adverse weather conditions, resulting in flight halt.

On May 26, a Nepal Airlines flight departed from Kathmandu to Ilam. Another flight had to return to Kathmandu on May 30 due to unsuitable weather. Dinesh Sundas, the station-in-charge of Sukilumba Airport in Ilam, stated that flights have not been operational since then. He mentioned that flights will not resume until the weather conditions improve.

Nepal Airlines Corporation (NAC) has been operating Kathmandu-Ilam flights since January 1, 2019, with two flights a week on Sundays and Thursdays. Before the NAC commenced its flights, Sita Airlines used to operate at Sukilumba Airport, according to Sundas, who is also the in-charge of Sita Airlines.

The abrupt closure of flights has caused inconvenience to passengers, who are currently traveling from the Bhadrapur Airport in Jhapa.