Nepalgunj airport conducts over 9,000 flights in 9 months

By Siraj Khan,Nepalgunj, Apr. 27: The number of flights to and from the Nepalgunj airport has exceeded 9,000 during the first nine months of the current fiscal year. Nepalgunj airport is believed to be one of the busy airports in Nepal.  Suresh Khanal, Chief of the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) Office in Nepalgunj, said that the flights to and from the Nepalgunj airport. The airport serves to connect western Nepal with the capital Kathmandu, as well as various Himalayan and hilly districts of the Karnali and Lumbini provinces.

He said that there were 9,254 air flights to and from this airport in the nine months of the current fiscal year 2023/2024. The CAA in Nepalgunj reported that over the last nine months, a total of 355,770 passengers enjoyed the aviation services in the Nepalgunj airport. Of them, 176,962 passengers arrived in Nepalgunj via flights while 178,808 passengers departed to other destinations from Nepalgunj.

According to the office, there were 14,750 flights from the airport during the 2023/2024 period. A total of 244,538 passengers arrived and 252,132 passengers departed to other places during this period.

Most flights departing from Nepalgunj head to the federal capital, Kathmandu, with regular services also connecting to the hilly and Himalayan districts in the west, including Pokhara.

The CAA in Nepalgunj has reported a slight decrease in the airport's workload, which is attributed to flights from Surkhet, the capital of Karnali Province, and Dhangadhi, the capital of Sudurpaschim Province, serving various districts in their respective regions.

The construction of essential infrastructure to elevate Nepalgunj Airport to an international-level regional airport is progressing rapidly. A comprehensive 20-year master plan has been developed for this purpose, and construction of an advanced terminal building has commenced accordingly.

According to the CAA, infrastructure development, including the runway and parking area, is swiftly underway in Nepalgunj, with an investment of Rs. 3 billion.