Rumjatar Airport, located at Okhaldhunga district has been out of service since nine months. The airport has stopped its service after all the airlines companies cancelled its flights.
After the construction of the road, the locals have started using roadway more often than airway. After four decades of operation, the airport’s runway was blacktopped. Nepal Airlines and Tara air used to conduct scheduled flight in the airport.
According to the local people, due to cancellations of flights, the locals mainly the ill patients have been directly affected. Few years ago, it was hard for air passengers to get tickets but due to less air passengers the flights operation have been stopped completely.
According to the airport officials, Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal (CAAN) has cancelled the flight due to lack of regular passengers.
Passengers have been using Ghurmi-Khurkhet highway roads as alternative. After the road has been blacktopped, people can reach Kathmandu in just Rs 800 through highway.
However, due to the increase in air fare, passengers have opted for road transport and the investment of millions of rupees from the government has been useless.
Kangel Airport at Solukhumbu which is nearer to Okhaldhunga has also been out of operation since 3 years due to the same issue as Rumjatar Airport. Development of road infrastructure has attracted passengers with low fare hence, closing the airport’s operation completely.
