Pokhara Airport (domestic)
Airport in Nepal
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Pokhara Airport (Nepali: पोखरा विमानस्थल, (IATA: PKR, ICAO: VNPK)) (in official use by CAAN "Pokhara (VNPK)"[4]) is a domestic airport serving Pokhara in Nepal. Pokhara Airport is supposed to be gradually replaced by Nepal's third international airport, Pokhara International Airport, since 2023.[5] While most operations were transferred to the new airport on 1 January 2023, the domestic operations to Jomsom are still operated from this airport in 2025.[6]
Pokhara Airport पोखरा विमानस्थल | |||||||||||
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| Summary | |||||||||||
| Airport type | Public | ||||||||||
| Owner | Government of Nepal | ||||||||||
| Operator | Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal | ||||||||||
| Serves | Pokhara, Nepal | ||||||||||
Focus city for | |||||||||||
| Elevation AMSL | 2,712 ft (827 m) | ||||||||||
| Coordinates | 28°12′03″N 083°58′55″E | ||||||||||
| Map | |||||||||||
  Pokhara Airport Location of airport in Nepal  Pokhara Airport Pokhara Airport (Nepal) | |||||||||||
| Runways | |||||||||||
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| Sources: CAAN[1] and DAFIF[2][3] | |||||||||||
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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,[7] and announced plans to fly to New Delhi's Indira Gandhi International Airport in the future.[8] However these international flights were discontinued soon after.
In the late 2010s, Pokhara Airport became Nepal's second domestic hub for air travel.[9]
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.[10]
Airlines and destinations
Several Ultralight aviation companies offer recreational and sightseeing flights from Pokhara Airport.[13]
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 a stationary Hawker Siddeley HS 748. There were no fatalities among the four crew members and 44 passengers.[14]
- 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.[15]
- On 16 February 2014, Nepal Airlines Flight 183 crashed shortly after taking off for a flight from Pokhara to Jumla Airport. The crash in bad weather killed all the 18 on board.[16]
- On 15 January 2023, Yeti Airlines Flight 691 crashed in the vicinity of the airfield in Gharipatan, Pokhara, while on approach to Pokhara International Airport from Kathmandu Airport. There were no survivors.
