Ratish Chandra Lal Suman, director general at Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal (CAAN), informed that the TIA will remain closed till Saturday morning as efforts to move the Turkish Airlines aircraft from the runway are still under way. “We cannot say how long it will take to move the aircraft. So we cannot tell when the airport will open for international flights.”
The recovery team, including technicians and experts from Nepal and India, is trying to tow the aircraft to the runway and move it to the remote parking area. However, as the nose wheel of the aircraft is fully damaged and the wheels have to be changed it is taking time to move the aircraft.
“Air bladders have been placed under the nose wheel, wings and the rear of the aircraft to lift it. But as the bladders are only 16 feet high and the nose wheel of the aircraft is half buried, the team has not been able to lift the depressed part of the aircraft,” said Suman.
Flights expected to be disrupted for two hours due to calibrati...
To lift the aircraft, a 4-ft wooden plank has been ordered. “We will put the air bladder above the plank and then inflate it. It will take 4 hours to inflate the bladder,” said Suman.
TIA will be providing round the clock service once the international flights resumes. Currently TIA remains closed from 12:30 am to 6:30 am.
“Most of the airlines have requested to operate wide body aircraft so that the stranded passengers do not have to wait longer once the service resumes,” said Bharat Kumar Shrestha, president of Airlines Operators’ Association -Nepal, adding that they are collecting information regarding the number of airlines seeking to operate wide body aircraft.
The closure of airport has affected around 40,000 passengers. Around 80 flights take-off and land at the TIA every day.
Meanwhile, Jet Airways aircraft which was stranded since Tuesday evening since Wednesday returned without passengers. According to airport officials, the empty aircraft requires only 3,000 feet runway and as 5,000 feet is available, it has been sent back.
