On Friday, airlines operated a total of 25 scheduled flights on Kathmandu-Lukla-Kathmandu route. Airlines had not operated any flight to the airstrip since Sunday due to low visibility. According to airline operators, 150 scheduled flights to Lukla were cancelled over the past five days.[break]
Purna Chudal, chief of domestic airport division at Tribhuvan International Airport (TIA), said 25 scheduled flights were operated on Kathmandu-Lukla-Kathmandu sector on Friday.
Around 200 hundred stranded tourists also arrived to Kathmandu on Friday.
“The number of returning tourists is low as the season for Everest Base Camp trek has just begun,” Mahendra Singh Thapa, president of Trekking Agencies´ Association of Nepal, said.
Cancellation of flights directly affected around 2,500 tourists and hundreds of trekkers heading to the Everest region cancelled the trip and diverted to other destinations.
Lukla - the gateway to Mt Everest - attracts thousands of tourists during autumn.
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