Nepalgunj reels under air traffic jam

Banke / Sept. 19: The Nepalgunj airport has been facing an unprecedented air traffic jam with a surge in the number of inbound and outbound flights.

The airport is currently serving 10 flights to Kathmandu and 20 flights to Karnali region in a day which has resulted in air traffic congestion.

The flights landing at the airport are also struggling for space. The aircrafts are forced to remain on hold in the sky due to other flights taking off or landing.

Airport’s Chief Pratap Babu Tiwari shared that the airport faces the intensity of the traffic whenever the flights to and from Kathmandu arrives.

Three flights of Buddha Air and Yeti Airlines each and two from Saurya and Shree Airlines each have been operating flights every day from Nepalgunj and Kathmandu.

Seven airlines including Tara, Sita, Yeti, Simrik and Kasthamandap have been operating flights to Karnali from Nepalgunj. The Humla- Simikot flights have increased due to a surge in the number of visitors to Mansarovar.

The airport’s current capacity can hold only seven twin otters at a given time.

The airport has prepared a new routine with half an hour gap for each flights coming from Kathmandu, but still the erratic weather pattern has been creating problems. RSS