KATHMANDU, Nov 25: Serious negligence has come to light at Tribhuvan International Airport (TIA). On the night of November 8, internet service at TIA was disrupted and remained down for nearly four hours, despite desk staff making numerous attempts to resolve the issue—a significant oversight at the country's only fully operational international airport.
A staff member on duty at TIA that night said, "Calls were made everywhere, but no one was able to restore the internet service." According to the staff member, no one provided any information about the cause of the internet service disruption.
The TIA employees claimed that the radar at the airport also stopped working due to the internet outage, creating a period of uncertainty for about four hours. "Even though the internet service was down, the administrators at the airport did not respond that night. The airport had just closed, but if a plane had come into the airspace, the system to redirect or notify it would have been shut down, causing confusion."
From November 8 to March 31, flights at the airport are being suspended 10 hours daily from 10 PM for expansion and maintenance work. On the night the airport closure started, the internet service was also disrupted. After the internet went down, the staff, in desperation, used police assistance to inform Home Secretary Gokarna Mani Duwadi through his mobile. That information was then forwarded by Home Secretary Duwadi to Communications Secretary Radhika Aryal via SMS.
Int’l flights affected due to internet outage at TIA
As no one was able to answer the phone that night, the airport staff informed the Home Secretary about the possibility of a major accident due to the lack of internet service. At 2 AM, Communications Secretary Radhika Aryal finally informed them that the internet service had been restored.
According to sources, the company providing internet services at the airport had not made any immediate efforts to restore the service. It was only after the request from Communications Secretary Aryal that Subisu restored the internet service. Various internet service providers operate at the airport.
When trying to gather information on the matter, TIA's General Manager Jagannath Niraula stated that he was unaware of the situation. He claimed that, in fact, the internet service had not been interrupted for even a minute. "The airport is undergoing maintenance, but the internet doesn't run on wires; it operates via Wi-Fi, so there is no reason for it to be shut down," Niraula said.
Currently, about 30 percent of flights at TIA have been reduced due to maintenance and expansion work. During this process, the internet cables laid underground were damaged, and since no repairs were made, the Wi-Fi from all internet providers' routers was disrupted. Neither the internet provider companies nor the airport administration were aware of this issue in time. By the time they found out, most of the staff had already gone home. Since it was nighttime, the possibility of repairs had already passed.
"A serious error occurred in such a sensitive area. No one reflected on it the next day, nor has anyone made an effort to ensure that such an incident doesn’t happen again. No one even tried to inquire about what happened," said the employee working at the airport. He also mentioned that the airport administration and other concerned offices tried to keep the issue confidential.
Currently, construction work is underway as part of the airport expansion master plan. According to the master plan, the existing international terminal building is being converted into a domestic terminal, and a new international terminal is under construction.
Work is also underway on the international apron, parallel taxiways and exit taxiways. When constructing airport infrastructure, ICAO regulations must be fully followed. According to these guidelines, the runway must be kept as safe as possible. Construction work and aircraft operations cannot be conducted simultaneously. The area within 75 meters is considered highly sensitive.
