Pokhara International Airport has been forced to suspend all flight operations since Sunday afternoon due to dense fog covering the sky, significantly reducing visibility. According to airport spokesperson Jashoda Regmi, regular flights have not been possible as the poor weather conditions persist. “Flights have not been operated since 3 PM the day before yesterday, and not a single flight could take off or land yesterday either,” she said. “All flights from Pokhara have been cancelled due to insufficient visibility.”
Spokesperson Regmi further informed that a commercial chartered flight of Sichuan Airlines from Pokhara to Chengdu, China, was also cancelled due to the weather. The narrow-body aircraft of Sichuan Airlines was scheduled to land in Pokhara from Chengdu on Tuesday. “Due to the same weather conditions, Sichuan Airlines cancelled its incoming flight as well,” she added. Since March 18, Sichuan Airlines had been operating one weekly flight between Chengdu and Pokhara International Airport.
Despite being equipped with the Instrument Flight Rules (IFR) system for aircraft navigation, Pokhara International Airport requires a minimum visibility of 3,700 meters for flights to operate under the IFR system. For Visual Flight Rules (VFR), flights can only proceed when visibility is at least 5,000 meters, as flights under this system rely on the pilot’s ability to see the runway and surrounding areas. “Yesterday, visibility did not exceed 2,000 meters, and even today the sky hasn’t cleared,” Regmi said. “With continuous poor weather, the airport has come to a complete standstill.”
The disruption has raised concerns about the reliability of air connectivity in the tourism capital city, especially during adverse weather conditions, and has impacted both domestic travelers and international flight schedules.
