Only 10 out of 30 flights on Sunday

POKHARA, April 16: Pokhara International Airport, which has been closed since Friday, opened only at 2.30 pm on Sunday. Flights to and from Pokhara had been affected since Thursday evening due to heavy fog.

Airport Chief Bikram Raj Gautam informed that the airport was opened after 2.30 pm on Sunday. According to him, there were no flights to Pokhara on Friday and Saturday. Two flights were canceled on Thursday as well. Gautam informed Republica that 20 flights were canceled on Sunday.

“Due to the late opening of the airport, all flights were not possible on Sunday. As many as 30 flights were scheduled for the day but only 10 flights were possible on Sunday," said Gautam, "The flights from morning were affected. Passengers were also facing problems as the flights were affected for three days. At this time, the demand for air tickets to Pokhara was good, but the flights were  affected due to unfavorable weather,” he said.

According to him, around 4,200 passengers used to travel through this airport on a normal day involving 60 two-way flights.

“There has been a huge financial loss. Pokhara has suffered financially due to lack of timely flights. Both the airline companies and the  airport had to bear financial losses,” he said. “Many domestic tourists who were preparing to come to Pokhara to celebrate the Nepali New Year were hit by the flight suspension. Some of them had to cancel their tour,” he added. Gautam said that many passengers of the connecting flight were affected because the domestic flight was delayed.

At least 3,800 meters of visibility is required to land a plane at Pokhara International Airport. “But for the past three days, the visibility of Pokhara was only 2,000 meters," said Gautam.

He said that the visibility on Sunday afternoon has been normal after the wind blew away the fog.

Although two Buddha Air planes that landed in Pokhara on Thursday evening took off for Kathmandu on Friday morning, aircraft from other cities including Kathmandu could not arrive in Pokhara after that. All flights were suspended on Friday and Saturday. Due to heavy fog, the airport could not be opened earlier. According to Gautam, even if the flight is based on technology – Instrument Flight Rules (IFR), it requires a visibility of 3,800 meters. Previously, when flying based on VFR (Visual Flight Rules) from Pokhara's old airport, visibility of 5,000 meters was required.

There are regular flights from Pokhara International Airport to Bharatpur, Bhairahawa and Nepalgunj and Kathmandu. Pokhara-Kathmandu route has the highest number of flights. Buddha, Yeti, Shree and Saurya Airlines have been operating direct flights to major cities from Pokhara. Even helicopters and ultra light aircraft operate from the old airport of Pokhara, including flights to Jomsom.

 
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