Domestic flights diverted to the nearest airports due to Excessive Air Traffic at TIA
April 19, 2017-KATHMANDU
The Goma Air Let-410 aircraft with registration ‘9N-AKZ’ en-route from Lukla to Kathmandu flight diverted to Ramechhap Airport in Manthali.
The aircraft departed from Lukla at around 12:01 PM to Kathmandu with 18 passengers onboard. The schedule flight was on excessive hold since one hour and the pilots from the flight deck encountered low fuel on the aircraft and planned to divert to the nearest airport Ramechhap and landed at around 12:25 PM today.
Similarly, Tara Airlines Lukla-Kathmandu inbound flight was diverted and landed to Phaplu Airport. Simrik Air Airbus AS 350 B3e series Helicopter ‘9N-AJZ’ made an emergency landing at Besisahar, Lamjung due to adverse weather condition. The helicopter was enroute to Manang from Kathmandu to rescue foreign tourist suffering from altitude sickness.
As per the ATC Officials from Ramechhap Airport, the Kathmandu airport had an excessive air traffic hold due to which the aircraft was forcefully diverted. The Ramechhap Airport features Nepal Oil Corporation ATF (Aviation Turbine Fuel) refueling facility. The Ramechhap Airport is the only nearest airport from Kathmandu towards eastern region.
Currently, the Ramechhap Airport does not have any schedule flight, but weekly Tara Air commences one Kathmandu-Ramechhap flight. The airport has one runway which is 518 meters and resides at an elevation of 1,555 feet (474 m) AMSL.
Nowadays, the airspace of Kathmandu valley is encountering huge air traffic problem. The passengers are facing delays in their flights not only due to hefty air traffic but also the adverse weather conditions these days.
