KATHMANDU, March 5: Tourist traffic has started increasing in Lukla. After two months, the traffic of tourists has started to increase in Lukla as the weather is favorable.

KATHMANDU, Feb 27: The Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal (CAAN), the regulatory body of the country's aviation sector, has concluded that it would not be appropriate to build an airport in Dharan.

KATHMANDU, Nov 9: The Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal (CAAN) has formed a three-member committee to conduct the feasibility of airport construction in Dharan Sub-metropolitan City.

KATHMANDU, Aug 17: Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal has said that time has come to overhaul the airport security management citing that it is the first gateway to national security.

KATHMANDU, June 22: The Nepal Association of Tour and Travel Agents (NATTA) has drawn the attention of Finance Minister Prakash Sharan Mahat towards the air tickets becoming expensive due to the imposition of VAT on airfare by the government.

POKHARA, May 10: Pokhara Regional International Airport (PRIA) has been operational for four months now. The tourism entrepreneurs of Pokhara were hopeful of the operation of international flights from Pokhara from the very first day (January 1, 2023) when the international airport came into operation.

KATHMANDU, April 27: The Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal (CAAN) has banned taking any kind of photos/videos without taking permission in the restricted area of the airport.

KATHMANDU, April 18: After the approach and area control frequency of the Tribhuvan International Airport (TIA) was down earlier today, the airport management had halted all flights to and from the airport. However, flights to and from the airport have resumed now by reducing the frequency capacity.

KATHMANDU, April 18: Tribhuvan International Airport (TIA)’s approach and area control frequencies are down and the airport has come to a standstill. At present, no aircraft can take off or land at the airport.

POKHARA, Jan 5: Pokhara's old airport earned Rs 115.9 million in the last fiscal year. This income is the highest due to the addition of flights after the decline in corona infection. But the flights from the old airport have been diverted to the new international airport from January 1.

DANG, July 31: Residents of Tulsipur have padlocked the Tulsipur Tarigaon Airport in Dang because the browser machine at the airport has been diverted.

SINDHULI, July 2: An airport is to be constructed at Baghmara-Sisneri that is located between Kamalamai municipality ward number 8 and 10 in Sindhuli.

DHANGADHI, June 26: Minister for Culture, Tourism and Civil Aviation, Prem Bahadur Ale has said that gone are the days when the people in Sudurpaschim had to go to the airport to board a plane after inquiring about the status of flights in Kathmandu.

DALLAS, Jan 20: Some flights to and from the U.S. were canceled on Wednesday even after AT&T and Verizon scaled back the rollout of high-speed wireless service that could interfere with aircraft technology that measures altitude.

KATHMANDU, Jan 14: Minister for Culture, Tourism and Civil Aviation, Bhanubhakta Dhakal has directed the authorities concerned to complete the construction of the projects of national pride under the ministry within the stipulated time.

JANAKPUR, Dec 12: Minister for Culture, Tourism and Civil Aviation Yogesh Bhattarai has said that the government was working to bring high-level infrastructure development to Janakpurdham. Inaugurating the new terminal building and control tower at Janakpur airport today, he described the airport as a mode of friendship between the federal, provincial and local level governments.

KATHMANDU, Oct 1: The Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal (CAAN) has issued a flight schedule allowing various domestic airlines to conduct 71 domestic flights a day in the month of October.

One runs out of topic even when writing about the unending plight of an airport or an airline. At times readers may find same issue being repeatedly written about. This happens primarily as issues hardly ever get tackled inviting outrage. The idea about using TIA runway in one direction (S to N), I propped up in my previous piece, was received positively more so as it came out right in the beginning of the Mangsir nuptial season. People I met at post-wedding parties still vaguely remembered the article’s gist. But those in the fraternity, who should naturally be the first to show any reaction, generally tended not to comment.

One old aviation hand suggested that I should do a piece timed to coincide with 36th International Federation of Air Traffic Controllers Association (IFATCA) Asia Pacific Regional Meeting (APRM) in Kathmandu (21-23 November). Seventy-seven and long retired, he still loves getting involved with aviation activities wherever possible. Though hesitant, I pondered if mitigating notoriety earned by TIA for inordinate long holdings in the air would be appropriate enough. As this was likely to make our ATCs little less stressful and that it was in consonance with the core aim of IFATCA, I decide to give it a try.

HONG KONG, Aug 14: China said Hong Kong’s protest movement had reached “near terrorism” on Wednesday, after a night of ugly clashes at the city’s airport where demonstrators set upon and detained two men they suspected of being government sympathizers.

HONG KONG, August 13: Protesters clogged the departure area at Hong Kong’s reopened airport Tuesday

Not being able to find proofs of something that had definitely happened is quite frustrating. I had encountered the same as mentioned in my previous piece. This time I was looking for details of a helicopter accident on TIA runway that had resulted in several hours of airport closure.

KATHMANDU, Aug 5: The Nepal Association of Tour and Travel Agents (NATTA) has urged the government to operate the Tribhuvan International Airport with its full capacity.

KATHMANDU, June 28: Government's official spokesperson and also the Minister for Communication and Information Technology, Gokul Baskota said that an alternate airport will be constructed at a location close to the valley.

DHANGADI, June 12: Regular flights to and from the Dhangadi airport began from today. The airport had been closed since May 5 for upgrading of the airstrip and parking zone.

Your daily dose of missed important news of the day.

ATTARIYA, June 6: The Dhangadhi airport will remain closed for one more week for the upgrading of the runway. The only airport connecting Kathmandu to Dhangadhi of Sudurpaschim Province in the far west began the temporary closure from May 5.

DHANGADHI, May 26: The Dhangadhi Airport, the only airport in Sudurpaschim Province, has been closed for the last 21 days for the ongoing repair work. Before shutting down the airport for a month, the authorities had assured the locals that the airport will resume its services after 20 days.

KUALA LUMPUR, April 1: Early on a February morning last year, a balding man in a gray suit entered Malaysia’s Kuala Lumpur airport, glanced up at the departures board and walked to check in for his flight to Macau. Moments later, his killers struck.

BUTWAL, March 22: Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli observed the under-construction Gautam Buddha International Airport at Bhairahawa of Rupandehi today and acquired information on its progress.

KATHMANDU, March 9: The Metropolitan Police's International Airport Office has arrested a person with illegal US dollar bills.

CHIPLEDHUNGA, March 3: Tourism entrepreneurs in Pokhara have demanded that the under-construction Pokhara International Airport be named after late Civil Aviation Minister Rabindra Adhikari.

DOTI, Jan. 31: Despite nearly one year delay in starting the blacktop works of the Dipayal Airport, the task has grasped rapid speed lately. The construction company, Sapana JV Construction Company, said that the development of the runway is in the final stage.

Nijgadh International airport has come to limelight because of increasing air traffic congestion at Tribhuvan International airport, the only International airport of Nepal. Nijgadh has been identified as a feasible airport to reduce the pressure and working load of TIA.

Your daily dose of missed important news of the day.

BALTIMORE, Dec 30: Officials say six people have been injured after a “partial equipment failure” involving a jet bridge at Baltimore-Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport.

NEWARK, N.J. Dec 20: Rapper Juelz Santana has been sentenced to more than two years in prison for trying to get a loaded gun onto a plane at a New York-area airport.

HONG KONG, Dec 9: Immaculate-looking flight attendants who appear unruffled by the demands of a life spent in the air are part of the slick image sold by carriers -- but Hong Kong-based workers are increasingly hitting back against sexual harassment.

The week in pictures November 25 - December 1.

RANJHA, Nov 12: Locals have initiated efforts for the expansion of Nepalgunj-based Ranjha Airport as a regional international airport.

KATHMANDU, Nov 6: A sub-committee formed by the parliament's International Relations Committee has concluded an 'on-site visit' of the Nijgadh International Airport construction site on Monday. The team flew to the site by a Nepal Army helicopter.

JUMLA, Nov 1: Janasari Gharti of Thabang had been undergoing treatment since two weeks at the Karnali Academy of Health Sciences (KAHS) in Jumla for lungs-related ailment.

OKHALDHUNGA, Oct 7: Rumjatar Airport of Okhaldhunga is all prepared to resume its flights from coming Tuesday after a closure of two years.

MUSIKOT, Oct 7: Salle airport in East Rukum has resumed flights today.

Your daily dose of missed important news of the day.

KATHMANDU, Sept 27: The Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal (CAAN) has requested people not to fly kites near the airport premises saying that it might disrupt the flight security.

PYUTHAN, Sept 24: A plan with an estimated cost of Rs 770 million was unveiled for the construction of Swargadwari (Chalnetar) Airport in Pyuthan.

KATHMANDU, Sept 16: While the government has been expressing commitment to plant trees in compensation of the deforestation due to construction of Nijgadh International Airport, environment experts have demanded that the government first reviewed the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) of the national pride project.

BHOJPUR, Sept 9: Taksar Airport, the only one airport in Bhojpur, the district in Province 1, has not witnessed the flight for over the past one month.

Why we need alternative and additional international airports is obvious. Tribhuvan International Airport (TIA), the only international airport in the country, has become too crowded, too congested and is too small to contain increasing air traffic.