KATHMANDU, April 8: Both domestic and international flights have been affected due to adverse weather conditions.
According to the Tribhuvan International Airport (TIA) office, some international flights have also been delayed. The domestic flights from Kathmandu have been impacted due to heavy air pollution, which has made the sky hazy in Kathmandu Valley.
According to the TIA office, a Summit Air flight to Lukla from Kathmandu has been delayed due to bad weather. Similarly, Yeti Airlines flights to Pokhara and Buddha Air flights to Bharatpur have also been delayed due to adverse weather conditions.
Adverse weather affects flights at TIA
Buddha Air's flight to Pokhara and Yeti Airlines' flight to Pokhara from Kathmandu have also been unable to take off due to adverse weather conditions. However, Rinji Sherpa Sherpa, the spokesperson for TIA, said that a Mountain Flight by Shree Airlines and a flight by Nepal Airlines to Rukum have been conducted successfully.
Due to excessive pollution, Kathmandu has been listed among the most polluted cities in the world for the past week. The air pollution levels in Kathmandu remain high today as well. Kathmandu's air quality has once again reached an unhealthy level. Environmentalists believe that the recent widespread fires in various districts have contributed to the air pollution in Kathmandu.
As pollution levels rise and the sky becomes hazy, international flights are being diverted. Domestic flights have also been affected.
Furthermore, due to reduced visibility caused by the fog, Pokhara Regional International Airport has been closed since Sunday afternoon. According to the airport spokesperson, Jashoda Regmi, no flights have been able to operate from Pokhara International Airport for the past three days.
Currently, the AQI in Pokhara has reached the red zone. Since Tuesday morning, the AQI has been above 150.
Due to the adverse weather, Sichuan Airlines also canceled its commercial charter flight from Pokhara to Chengdu, China. Although the airline's narrow-body aircraft was scheduled to land in Pokhara from Chengdu on Tuesday, the landing was not possible due to the unfavorable weather.