Pokhara Airport (domestic): Difference between revisions

{{About|the domestic airport serving [[Pokhara]], [[Nepal]]|the international airport in Pokhara|Pokhara International Airport}}

{{Use dmy dates|date=September 20132024}}

| nativename = {{lang|ne|पोखरा विमानस्थल}}

[[File:Pokhara Airport 1.jpg|thumb|right| Airside at Pokhara Airport in a rain November day of 2022]]

'''Pokhara Airport''' ({{lang-ne|पोखरा विमानस्थल}}, {{Airport codes|<span style="text-decoration:line-through;">PKR</span>|VNPK|p=n}}) 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.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://archive.nepalitimes.com/article/nation/Pokhara-waits-for-take-off,4136|title=With new airport, Pokhara waits for takeoff - Nation - Nepali Times|first=Ziyu|last=Lin|website=archive.nepalitimes.com|accessdate=8 September 2018}}</ref> While most operations were transferred to the new airport on 1 January 2023, the [[STOL]]- (short takeoff and landing) operations to [[Jomsom Airport|Jomsom]] are still operated from this airport.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Pokharel |first1=Santosh |title=Pokhara's Old Airport to Remain Functional as CAAN Prepares to Launch Int'l Airport |url=https://myrepublica.nagariknetwork.com/news/pokhara-s-old-airport-to-remain-functional-as-caan-prepares-to-launch-int-l-airport/ |publisher=República |access-date=1 January 2023 |date=22 December 2022}}</ref>

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 Nepali private Nepali airline, began international flights from Pokhara to [[Chaudhary Charan Singh International Airport]] in [[Lucknow]], India,<ref>[http://www.buddhaair.com/destination/ "Buddha Air Lucknow flight"] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120919185809/http://www.buddhaair.com/destination/ |date=19 September 2012 }}, ''buddhaair.com'', accessed 28 September 2012.</ref> and announced plans to fly to [[New Delhi]]'s [[Indira Gandhi International Airport]] in the future.<ref>[http://www.tourennepal.com/news.php?id=30 "Buddha Air plans to start Pokhara-New Delhi flight"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160306055401/http://www.tourennepal.com/news.php?id=30 |date=6 March 2016 }}, "Tour Nepal", accessed 28 September 2012.</ref> However these international flights were discontinued soon after.

In the late 2010s, Pokhara AirpotAirport became Nepal's second domestic hub handlingfor flightsair to various provincestravel.<ref>{{cite web |title=Pokhara Airport |url=https://caanepal.gov.np/storage/app/media/airport%20profile%202020%20updated/in%20operation/POKHARA-AIRPORT.pdf |publisher=Civil Aviation Authority Nepal}}</ref>

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 [[Tribhuvan International Airport|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.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.myrepublica.com/portal/index.php?action=news_details&news_id=71653 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140419012404/http://www.myrepublica.com/portal/index.php?action=news_details&news_id=71653 |archive-date=19 April 2014 |title=Aircraft parking at Pokhara Airport woefully inadequate|website=Republica|date=27 MYREPUBLICA.comMarch - News in Nepal: Fast, Full & Factual, POLITICAL AFFAIRS, BUSINESS & ECONOMY, SOCIAL AFFAIRS, LIFESTYLE, SPORTS, OPINION, INTERVIEW, INTERNATIONAL, THE WEEK news in English in Nepal2014}}</ref>

|[[Tara Air]]|[[Jomsom Airport|Jomsom]]<ref>{{Cite web |last=Republica |title=Pokhara Airport resumes flight service |url=http://myrepublica.nagariknetwork.com/news/120962/ |access-date=2022-07-07 |website=My Republica |language=en}}</ref>

*On 6 November 1997, a [[Necon Air]] [[Avro 748|Avro 748-100]] had a hydraulic failure after landing from a flight from [[Tribhuvan International Airport|Kathmandu Airport]]. The pilot attempted to steer the plane, but it hit anothera stationary [[Hawker Siddeley HS 748]]. There were no fatalities among the four crew members and 44 passengers.<ref>{{cite web |title=ASN Aircraft accident Avro 748-106 Srs. 1A |url=https://aviation-safety.net/database/record.php?id=19971106-0 |publisher=Aviation Safety Network |access-date=23 May 2021}}</ref>