Civil Aviation Authority of Dhangadi is closing flight services from Dhangadi airport for 8 days.
According to the authority, due to rainwater there are some problems in the runway of airport and the flight services will be closed from Tuesday, December 25 until January 1 for the repair.
Tej Bahadur Budhathapa, chief of Civil Aviation Authority of Dhangadi stated that during rainy season, the rain water affects the runway so the flight services from 6 am morning to 6 pm evening will be closed for renovation of the runway.
“After 6 pm in the evening, the airline companies can operate flight operation,” he added.
Buddha Air will conduct flights after 6 pm as the carrier started a night flight from Dhangadhi Airport after Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal (CAAN) established RNAV (Area Navigation). The carrier has been authorized to conduct Performance-Based Navigation (PBN). This new navigation procedure will aid the airline to conduct Instrument Flight Rules (IFR) procedure and night flight at Dhangadhi Airport.
Civil Aviation Authority of Dhangadi had requested permission from Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal (CAAN) for the closure of airport.
Chief Budhathapa informed that Civil Aviation Authority of Dhangadi decided to close flight services after receiving approval from CAAN.
Previously, Minister of Culture, Tourism and Civil Aviation (MoCTCA), Rabindra Adhikari had stated that the government is working to upgrade Dhangadhi airport to conduct air service to neighboring country.
The airport located at the Province 7 is in high demand to be upgraded from the past. Nepal government has planned to make the airport regional in new budget for the fiscal year.
With the collaboration of Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA), VOR/DME (radio navigation system which provides the angle between aircraft and station and gives the distance between aircraft and the station) equipment was installed which help in operating for night flights. The runway of Dhanghadi Airport is second longest after the runway of Tribhuvan International Airport.
