Monsoon rain from Sunday night has affected most of the domestic flights on Monday. Flights have been affected in almost all the airports of the country. All flights to and from Pokhara, Bhairahawa, Lukla, Phaplu and Jomsom were canceled on Monday. Mountain flights were also canceled.
KATHMANDU, July 3: Around 800 domestic and Indian tourists are stuck at Simikot Airport in Humla district as poor visibility due to heavy rainfall obstructed affected chopper flights.
Most of the stranded passengers are heading to Kailash-Mansarovar region of Tibet -- a popular pilgrimage site for Hindus.
Bad weather cancels 61 flights
“No flight has been possible in last two days due to adverse weather conditions. Airline companies have cancelled all their flights,” Ratna Bahadur Hamal of Civil Aviation Office, Simikot, said.
According to Hamal, few choppers had landed at the airport on Sunday. However, even choppers couldn’t fly on Monday, he added.
“Indian tourists heading toward Kailash-Mansarovar of Tibet haven been stuck. Similarly, examinees of Teachers’ Service Commission have not been able to fly,” he said, adding: “Weather is unlikely to improve soon. So, flights can be affected for some days more.”
Talking to Republica, Ghanashyam Acharya, the spokesperson for Airlines Operators’ Association Nepal (AOAN), said that Indian tourists are piling up at limited hotels in Simikot after poor visibility cancelled all flights. “Almost 800 tourists are stuck at Simikot airport. Hotels there are not in a position to accommodate all of them,” he added.
Monsoon rain from Sunday night has affected most of the domestic flights on Monday. Flights have been affected in almost all the airports of the country. All flights to and from Pokhara, Bhairahawa, Lukla, Phaplu and Jomsom were canceled on Monday. Mountain flights were also canceled.
Prem Nath Thakur, the spokesperson for Tribhuvan International Airport (TIA) in Kathmandu, said that although domestic flights are affected, international flights are being operated smoothly. “We cannot say whether domestic airlines will be able to operate flights on Tuesday as we do not know when the weather will improve,” he added.
Domestic airline companies operated only a few flights on Monday. Yeti Airlines canceled all its flights to and from Pokhara, Nepalgunj and Tumlingtar as well as mountain flights. It canceled two flights to Bharatpur. Similarly, Tara Air cancelled all its scheduled flights. Shree Airlines cancelled two flights to Bhairahawa, two flights to Dhangadhi and a flight to Rajbiraj. Buddha Air also canceled its flights to Pokhara, Bhairahawa and Tumlingtar.
