Flight delays and cancellation in Nepal
Kanchan Shrestha | August 3, 2017
Flight delays and Cancellation in Nepal
The sole reason for the flight delays and cancellations in Nepal is the climatic variability in the difficult terrain. The adverse weather conditions like heavy rain, high winds and blinding fog results to the flight delays or even cancellation. Therefore, flights delay and cancellation are more likely in winter and rainy seasons. Tribhuvan International Airport lacks the Instrument Landing System for the domestic flights. Due to which the flights in adverse weather conditions will cancel considering the safety of the air passengers.
Generally, mid December to January end is considered as the bad time for all the domestic air carriers in Nepal. As there are flight delays more often which sometimes leads to flight cancellation too. Even monsoon flights are also not that sure to fly because sometimes heavy rain may lead to flight delay or even cancellation. But the flights take off and land in their exact time during the summer and spring seasons. Flight delays and cancellation are very less likely.
Flight delays and cancellation is one of the major concern in the field of tourism. Many tourists come to Nepal and get dishearten due to the flight delays and cancellation. It deteriorates their prepared schedule. Flights to Pokhara, Chitwan and other touristic places has an alternative way which is road transportation in case of flight cancellation. But flight to Lukla, the only gateway to the Everest can cause a huge problem since its the only way to get there. Lukla airport in itself lies in dramatic mountain location. Therefore, taking off and landing the flights in cloudy or foggy weather can be too dangerous. Therefore, we recommend an extra day in Nepal to all the travelers in Nepal.
