Ramechhap Airport

Ramechhap Airport (IATA: RHP, ICAO: VNRC) is a domestic airport serving the municipality of Manthali,[1] the district headquarters of Ramechhap District located in the Tamakoshi River valley in Bagmati Province in Nepal. As of October 2022, most flights to Lukla Airport are operated from Ramechhap Airport.

Ramechhap Airport
Summary
Airport typePublic
OwnerGovernment of Nepal
OperatorCivil Aviation Authority of Nepal
ServesManthali and Ramechhap, Nepal
Elevation AMSL1,555 ft / 474 m
Coordinates27°23′38″N 86°03′41″E
Map
Ramechhap Airport is located in Nepal
Ramechhap Airport
Ramechhap Airport
Location of airport in Nepal
Runways
Direction Length Surface
m ft
03/21 530 1,739 Concrete
Source:[1][2]

History
Nepalese service members offload supplies from a U.S. Marine Corps MV-22 Osprey assigned to Joint Task Force 505 humanitarian assistance and disaster relief at Manthali, the 2015 earthquake.

The airport was opened in October 1979.[2] In 2015, the runway was renovated and upgraded from a grass/clay surface to concrete.[3]

In 2019, as the sole runway of Tribhuvan International Airport in Kathmandu was being renovated and the airport was closed over night, all flights to Lukla were operated from Ramechhap Airport, the closest airport to Kathmandu, as these flights need to take off early in the morning to not get caught in dangerous winds in Lukla.[4][5][6] During peak, the airport served 24 flights per day,[7] However, the airport had serious problems handling the mass of tourists traveling to Lukla.[8] Following this, plans were developed to upgrade the airport.[9] By 2020, flights to Lukla were operated from Kathmandu again, and with Tara Air's discontinuation of the flight to Kathmandu, the airport was left without scheduled operations.[10]

In 2022, the Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal decided that flight to Lukla were to be operated from Ramechhap Airport instead of Kathmandu again.[11] Despite this being the second instance, critics argued that the airport and its surrounding infrastructure was still not sufficiently developed.[12]

Facilities

The airport is at an elevation of 1,555 feet (474 m) above mean sea level. It has one runway which is 518 metres (1,699 ft) in length.[1]

Crowded entrance of Manthali airport.

Airlines and destinations
AirlinesDestinations
Sita Air Lukla[13]
Charter: Kathmandu,[14][4] Phaplu[15]
Summit Air Lukla[13]
Charter: Phaplu[15]
Tara Air Lukla[13]
Charter: Phaplu[15]

Access

The airport is located near Feeder Road 32. It is connected to Kathmandu via BP Highway.

Incidents and accidents
  • 22 April 2019 – A Tara Air Dornier 228 aircraft skidded off the runway upon landing at Ramechhap Airport. Due to adverse weather, the flight from Tribhuvan International Airport to Lukla Airport was diverted to Ramechhap Airport. All of the crew and passengers evacuated the aircraft safely.[16]
  • 20 March 2020 – A Summit Air Let 410 en route from Lukla to Kathmandu made an emergency landing at Ramechhap Airport due to an engine failiues. All of the crew and passengers evacuated the aircraft safely.[17]

See also

List of airports in Nepal

References
  1. Airport information for Ramechhap, Nepal (VNRC / RHP) at Great Circle Mapper.
  2. "Ramechhap Airport" (PDF). Civil Aviation Authority Nepal. Retrieved 1 April 2019.
  3. Shrestha, Sumesh (9 August 2016). "Test Flight conducted after reopening of Ramechhap Airport". Aviation Nepal. Retrieved 1 April 2019.
  4. Rai, Pinkey. "Lukla flight operation from Ramechhap initiates today". Aviation Nepal. Retrieved 1 April 2019.
  5. "Domestic airline companies issue travel alert for passengers". The Himalayan Times. Retrieved 1 April 2019.
  6. Walters, Rikki (4 January 2019). "More than luck in Lukla". Nepali Times. Retrieved 12 April 2019.
  7. Rai, Pinkey (4 December 2018). "Manthali Airport witnesses increase in passengers: operates up-to 24 flights daily". Aviation Nepal. Retrieved 15 November 2020.
  8. Sierra, S. (8 April 2019). "Misery of Ramechhap Airport; sheer negligence of CAAN". Aviation Nepal. Retrieved 12 April 2019.
  9. "TAAN seeks Ramechhap airport upgradation". The Himalayan Times. Retrieved 5 October 2019.
  10. Bhatt, Tika Prasad. "विमानस्थल भए पनि रामेछाप-काठमाडौं उडान नभएकोमा रामेछापबासीको गुनासो" (in Nepali). E-Kantipur. Retrieved 1 October 2022.
  11. "Lukla, Solukhumbu flights to operate from Manthali". República. 23 September 2022. Retrieved 1 October 2022.
  12. Lama, Kiran (11 October 2022). "Hundreds stuck in Ramechhap due to bad weather". The Himalayan Times. Retrieved 13 October 2022.
  13. "Regular flight started from Ramechhap to Lukla". República. 1 October 2022. Retrieved 8 October 2022.
  14. "Flight Schedule". Sita Air. Retrieved 1 May 2018.
  15. "लुक्लातर्फका उडान चार दिनदेखि ठप्प, रामेछाप-फाप्लुमा धमाधम उडान गर्दै वायुसेवा". Bizmandu. Retrieved 13 October 2022.
  16. "Tara Air's Plane Slipped Off At Ramechhap Airport". Spotlight Nepal. 22 April 2019. Retrieved 1 November 2019.
  17. "Summit Air makes emergency landing in Ramechhap". Khabar Hub. 22 March 2020. Retrieved 15 November 2020.
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