Pokhara Airport

Pokhara Airport

पोखरा विमानस्थल
Pokhara Airport; पोखरा विमानस्थल
	Pokhara Airport in 2019
	IATA: PKR; ICAO: VNPK;
Summary
Airport type	Public
Owner	Government of Nepal
Operator	Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal
Serves	Pokhara, Nepal
Focus city for	Tara Air;
Elevation AMSL	2,712 ft / 827 m
Coordinates	28°12′03″N 083°58′55″E / 28.20083°N 83.98194°E / 28.20083; 83.98194
Map
	Pokhara Airport Location of airport in Nepal Pokhara Airport Pokhara Airport (Nepal)
Runways
	Sources: CAAN and DAFIF

Pokhara Airport (IATA: VNPK) is a domestic airport serving Pokhara in Nepal. Pokhara Airport will be gradually replaced by Nepal's third international airport, Pokhara International Airport, in 2023.^[4] While most operations were transferred to the new airport on 1 January 2023, the STOL-operations to Jomsom are still operated from this airport.^[5]

History

The airport was established on 4 July 1958 by the Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal. Until the 2010s, it offered regular connections to Kathmandu and Jomsom; and seasonal connections to Manang. In 2011 Buddha Air, a private Nepali airline, began international flights from Pokhara to Chaudhary Charan Singh International Airport in Lucknow, India,^[6] and announced plans to fly to New Delhi's Indira Gandhi International Airport in the future.^[7] However these international flights were discontinued soon after.

In the late 2010s, Pokhara Airport became Nepal's second domestic hub for air travel.^[8]

Facilities

The apron of the airport is relatively small and can only handle eight propeller planes at a time. Pokhara Airport is a diversion airport for the country's main airport in Kathmandu in times of problems such as fog. Due to a short runway and crowded apron, flights must often be re-diverted to third airports with even shorter runways.^[9]

Airlines and destinations

Airlines	Destinations
Sita Air	Jomsom, Kathmandu^[10]
Summit Air	Jomsom
Tara Air	Jomsom^[11]

Several Ultralight aviation companies offer recreational and sightseeing flights from Pokhara Airport.^[12]

Statistics

Incidents and accidents

On 6 November 1997, a Necon Air Avro 748-100 had a hydraulic failure after landing from a flight from Kathmandu Airport. The pilot attempted to steer the plane, but it hit another stationary Hawker Siddeley HS 748. There were no fatalities among the four crew members and 44 passengers.^[13]
On 22 August 2002, a Shangri-La Air Twin Otter aircraft, on a flight from Jomsom to Pokhara, crashed into a hill that was under complete cloud cover following three days of continuous rain. All three crew and 15 passengers were killed.^[14]
On 16 February 2014, Nepal Airlines Flight 183 crashed shortly after taking off for a flight Pokhara to Jumla Airport. The crash in bad weather killed all the 18 on board.^[15]
On 15 January 2023, Yeti Airlines Flight 691 crashed in the vicinity the airfield in Gharipatan, Pokhara, before landing at Pokhara International Airport from Kathmandu Airport. There were no survivors.

References

^ Pokhara Airport Archived 24 July 2011 at the Wayback Machine at Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal, accessed 4 March 2011
^ "Airport information for VNPK". World Aero Data. Archived from the original on 5 March 2019.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link) Data current as of October 2006. Source: DAFIF.
^ Airport information for PKR at Great Circle Mapper. Source: DAFIF (effective October 2006).
^ Lin, Ziyu. "With new airport, Pokhara waits for takeoff - Nation - Nepali Times". archive.nepalitimes.com. Retrieved 8 September 2018.
^ Pokharel, Santosh (22 December 2022). "Pokhara's Old Airport to Remain Functional as CAAN Prepares to Launch Int'l Airport". República. Retrieved 1 January 2023.
^ "Buddha Air Lucknow flight" Archived 19 September 2012 at the Wayback Machine, buddhaair.com, accessed 28 September 2012.
^ "Buddha Air plans to start Pokhara-New Delhi flight" Archived 6 March 2016 at the Wayback Machine, "Tour Nepal", accessed 28 September 2012.
^ "Pokhara Airport" (PDF). Civil Aviation Authority Nepal.
^ "Aircraft parking at Pokhara Airport woefully inadequate MYREPUBLICA.com - News in Nepal: Fast, Full & Factual, POLITICAL AFFAIRS, BUSINESS & ECONOMY, SOCIAL AFFAIRS, LIFESTYLE, SPORTS, OPINION, INTERVIEW, INTERNATIONAL, THE WEEK news in English in Nepal". Archived from the original on 19 April 2014.
^ "Schedule". Sita Air. Retrieved 17 March 2023.
^ Republica. "Pokhara Airport resumes flight service". My Republica. Retrieved 7 July 2022.
^ "Civil Aviation Report 2018" (PDF). Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal. Retrieved 6 July 2020.
^ "ASN Aircraft accident Avro 748-106 Srs. 1A". Aviation Safety Network. Retrieved 23 May 2021.
^ Aviation Safety Network retrieved 19 November 2006
^ Adhikari, Deepak (18 February 2014). "Nepal plane crash in bad weather killed all 18 on board". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 27 March 2014.

External links

Pokhara flights schedule
Ultralight Flight from Pokhara Airport
Accident history for PKR at Aviation Safety Network

[1] Pokhara Airport Archived 24 July 2011 at the Wayback Machine at Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal, accessed 4 March 2011

[WAD-2] "Airport information for VNPK". World Aero Data. Archived from the original on 5 March 2019.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link) Data current as of October 2006. Source: DAFIF.

[GCM-3] Airport information for PKR at Great Circle Mapper. Source: DAFIF (effective October 2006).

[4] Lin, Ziyu. "With new airport, Pokhara waits for takeoff - Nation - Nepali Times". archive.nepalitimes.com. Retrieved 8 September 2018.

[5] Pokharel, Santosh (22 December 2022). "Pokhara's Old Airport to Remain Functional as CAAN Prepares to Launch Int'l Airport". República. Retrieved 1 January 2023.

[6] "Buddha Air Lucknow flight" Archived 19 September 2012 at the Wayback Machine, buddhaair.com, accessed 28 September 2012.

[7] "Buddha Air plans to start Pokhara-New Delhi flight" Archived 6 March 2016 at the Wayback Machine, "Tour Nepal", accessed 28 September 2012.

[8] "Pokhara Airport" (PDF). Civil Aviation Authority Nepal.

[9] "Aircraft parking at Pokhara Airport woefully inadequate MYREPUBLICA.com - News in Nepal: Fast, Full & Factual, POLITICAL AFFAIRS, BUSINESS & ECONOMY, SOCIAL AFFAIRS, LIFESTYLE, SPORTS, OPINION, INTERVIEW, INTERNATIONAL, THE WEEK news in English in Nepal". Archived from the original on 19 April 2014.

[10] "Schedule". Sita Air. Retrieved 17 March 2023.

[11] Republica. "Pokhara Airport resumes flight service". My Republica. Retrieved 7 July 2022.

[12] "Civil Aviation Report 2018" (PDF). Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal. Retrieved 6 July 2020.

[13] "ASN Aircraft accident Avro 748-106 Srs. 1A". Aviation Safety Network. Retrieved 23 May 2021.

[14] Aviation Safety Network retrieved 19 November 2006

[15] Adhikari, Deepak (18 February 2014). "Nepal plane crash in bad weather killed all 18 on board". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 27 March 2014.