KATHMANDU, Oct 12: Following a five-day suspension due to adverse weather conditions, the Ramechhap-Lukla flight service has resumed from today. Umesh Kumar Panthi, the chief of the Tenzing Hillary Airport, announced that regular flights are back on schedule starting from Thursday.
Until yesterday, the Visual Flight Rules (VFR) flights were unable to operate due to heavy cloud cover, leaving helicopters as the sole providers of flight services. Panthi stated, "Both airplanes and helicopters have resumed flight services today."
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Since the morning, 18 flights from three different airlines — Tara, Sita, and Summit Air — have successfully landed in Lukla. Panthi confirmed that passenger occupancy has remained at 100%.
Moreover, on Wednesday alone, more than 400 passengers arrived in Lukla via helicopter flights. Panthi anticipates increased traffic and movement of foreign tourists in Lukla during the upcoming tourist season, thanks to the combined services of helicopters and airplanes.
The airlines flying on the Ramechhap-Lukla route have also made a request for baggage X-ray machines to be installed at both airports temporarily. Currently, the absence of X-ray machines has caused inconveniences for passengers as their baggage and belongings have to be inspected manually.
According to the airline companies, on days with favorable weather conditions, this airport witnesses over 80 daily flight arrivals. During the recent bout of bad weather, some tourists resorted to trekking on foot to reach the Everest region via Lukla, while others opted for helicopter transport.
