Pokhara Airport 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. While most operations were transferred to the new airport on 1 January 2023, the STOL (short takeoff and landing) operations to Jomsom are still operated from this airport.

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, and announced plans to fly to New Delhi's Indira Gandhi International Airport in the future. However these international flights were discontinued soon after. In the late 2010s, Pokhara Airport became Nepal's second domestic hub for air travel.

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.

Airlines and destinations

Several Ultralight aviation companies offer recreational and sightseeing flights from Pokhara Airport.

Statistics

Incidents and accidents