From the 1st April to 30th June, the Tribhuvan International Airport of Kathmandu has announced to operate flights only between 8:00 to 22:00, local time.
As most of the flights to Lukla leave early in the morning, they are shifted to the nearby Manthali Airport of Ramechhap District for the time being. The concerned authority has apologized for the inconvenience caused by their action.
For the last few years, the frequent appearance of cracks and fissures have caused great risk in-flight landing and take-off. Also, minor accidents have been occurring sporadically.
Therefore, for the maintenance of the airport, the management team has made a wise decision of putting halt to all the flights between 22:00 and 8:00, to ensure safe and comfortable flights by the end of June.
In terms of distance, Manthali Airport is just 132 km away from Thamel, which means it takes almost 4 – 5 hours to reach there by 4-wheeler. The road is windy, but full of brilliant sceneries all around.
I would say, this is a bonus opportunity to explore Ramechhap while kicking off to venture on the might Everest region.
Ramechhap is a hill-dominated district of Nepal, which is relatively less crowded than the bustling city of Kathmandu. The airport is on the bank of the Tama Koshi river and, virtually, has no pollution at all.
However, the accommodation facilities around the whereabouts of Manthali Airport are not as to the standard; so, you might not want to stay overnight there. Therefore, you will be escorted to Ramechhap just before your flight.
In case you have already booked the tickets to Lukla and the time is between 22:00 to 8:00 (local time), then your flight will be launched by the same air agency at a given time from the Manthali Airport of Ramechhap. If you would like to cancel the tickets, you can do that before your flight day.
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