Pokhara airport handled record flights in 2010

POKHARA, Feb 12: Pokhara airport handled a record number of flights in 2010. According to airport officials, the airport handled 25,658 flights during the year. Last year, the airport had handled a total of 21,513 flights.



Narendra Bahadur Thapa, chief of Pokhara airport, told the previous high of 22,775 flights was recorded in 2000. [break]



“The number of flights handled by the airport had started declining after 2000 due to Maoist insurgency,” he said, adding that the airport had handled just 16,216 flights in 2002.



Thapa added that the rise in number of flights handled by the airport augurs well for the Nepal Tourism Year 2011 campaign. He attributed the rise in number of flights to healthy increment in arrivals of domestic as well as foreign tourists to the lake city.



Records at Pokhara airport show that the number of passengers handled by the airport in 2010 increased by 20 percent as compared to the figures of a year earlier. The airport had handled 360,107 passengers in 2010, up from 301,091 recorded in 2009.



Officials of Pokhara airport told Republica that the number of flights also includes the flights of ultra-light aircraft. Ultra-light flight is one of popular tourist activities in the lake city.



Gautam Baral, station manager of Buddha Air in Pokhara, said the number of flights would increase further if there is lasting peace in the country.



Pokhara Airport handles an average of 70 flights a day. During peak season, the airport handles as much as 140 flights a day.

Related story

Airline companies making business plan for Pokhara Regional Int...