The heavy snowfall from Monday night has affected the flight operation at Humla.
The only transportation of the remote area, air services has been closed down in the reason. Regular flights to Nepalgunj and Surkhet from Humla could not take place after the snowfall.
Normal lives in upper belt of the district have been affected due to snowfall and have also affected them as they are unable to migrate to lower warmer region. Thick Snow has clotted at the airport. Due to disruption of flight operation, local people and sick patients are being in problem.
Due to snowfall leading the flight disruptions, scarcity of daily consumable goods has been observed.
According to the Standard Operation Procedure (SOP), for the airport to operate the normal flight under the VFR (Visual Flight Rules) conditions the airport must have at least minimum visibility of 5000 meters along with 1500 feet ceiling for a fixed wing aircraft. Likewise for helicopters its 1000 meter visibility. Fixed wing aircraft are not allowed to operate at wind speed more than 10 knots.
Snow on a runway results decrease in the flight performance as it reduces friction, reduces contrast, obscures runway markings, and creates hazards. Most mishaps occur during the landing phase, but snow is also known to bite pilots during takeoff and taxi operations.
Simikot Airport is located at an elevation of 9,751 ft (2,971 m) above mean sea level. The airport possess a Single asphalt runway of a length of 650 meters aligned to 010 degrees and 280 degrees serving as one of the country’s busiest domestic airport these days.
