Ramechhap Airport
{{Use dmy dates|date=August 2019}}
{{Infobox airport
| name = Ramechhap Airport
| nativename =
| image = Rammechap Airport - Everest Base Camp Trek , Himalayan Asia Treks.jpg
| IATA = RHP
| ICAO = VNRC
| pushpin_map = Nepal
| pushpin_map_caption = Location of airport in Nepal
| pushpin_label = Ramechhap Airport
| pushpin_label_position = left
| type = Public
| owner = Government of Nepal
| operator = Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal
| city-served = Manthali and Ramechhap, Nepal
| location =
| elevation-f = 1,555
| elevation-m = 474
| coordinates = {{coord|27|23|38|N|86|03|41|E|region:NP_type:airport}}
| website =
| metric-rwy = y
| r1-number = 03/21
| r1-length-m = 530
| r1-length-f =
| r1-surface = Concrete
| footnotes = Source:{{GCM|VNRC|Ramechhap, Nepal (VNRC / RHP)}}{{cite web |title=Ramechhap Airport |url=http://www.caanepal.gov.np/storage/app/media/uploaded-files/Ramechhap%20Airport.pdf |publisher=Civil Aviation Authority Nepal |accessdate=1 April 2019}}
}}
Ramechhap Airport {{airport codes|RHP|VNRC}} is a domestic airport serving the municipality of Manthali, 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.
History
image: Nepalese service members offload supplies from a U.S. Marine Corps MV-22 Osprey.jpg
The airport was opened in October 1979. In 2015, the airport was closed for 13 months to allow runway renovations and upgrade from a clay and grass surface to asphalt, reopening in August 2016.{{cite web |title=Test Flight conducted after reopening of Ramechhap Airport |url=https://www.aviationnepal.com/test-flight-conducted-after-reopening-of-ramechhap-airport/ |publisher=Aviation Nepal |accessdate=1 April 2019 |date=9 August 2016|last=Shrestha |first=Sumesh}}
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.{{cite web |title=Lukla flight operation from Ramechhap initiates today |url=https://www.aviationnepal.com/lukla-flight-operation-from-ramechhap-initiates-today/ |publisher=Aviation Nepal |last=Rai|first=Pinkey|accessdate=1 April 2019}}{{cite web |title=Domestic airline companies issue travel alert for passengers |url=https://thehimalayantimes.com/business/domestic-airline-companies-issue-travel-alert-for-passengers/ |publisher=The Himalayan Times |accessdate=1 April 2019}}{{cite web |title=More than luck in Lukla |url=https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/more-than-luck-in-lukla/ |publisher=Nepali Times |accessdate=12 April 2019 |date=4 January 2019|first=Rikki|last= Walters}} During peak, the airport served 24 flights per day,{{cite web |last1=Rai |first1=Pinkey |title=Manthali Airport witnesses increase in passengers: operates up-to 24 flights daily |url=https://www.aviationnepal.com/manthali-airport-witnesses-increase-in-passengers-operates-up-to-24-flights-daily/ |publisher=Aviation Nepal |accessdate=15 November 2020 |date=4 December 2018}} However, the airport had serious problems handling the mass of tourists traveling to Lukla.{{cite web |title=Misery of Ramechhap Airport; sheer negligence of CAAN |url=https://www.aviationnepal.com/misery-of-ramechhap-airport-sheer-negligence-of-caan/ |publisher=Aviation Nepal |accessdate=12 April 2019 |date=8 April 2019|first= S. |last=Sierra}} Following this, plans were developed to upgrade the airport.{{cite web |title=TAAN seeks Ramechhap airport upgradation |url=https://thehimalayantimes.com/business/trekking-agencies-association-of-nepal-seeks-ramechhap-airport-upgradation/ |publisher=The Himalayan Times |accessdate=5 October 2019}} By 2020{{when|date=October 2022}}, flights to Lukla were operated from Kathmandu again,{{citation needed|date=October 2022}} and with Tara Air's discontinuation of the flight to Kathmandu, the airport was left without scheduled operations.{{cite web |last1=Bhatt |first1=Tika Prasad |title=विमानस्थल भए पनि रामेछाप-काठमाडौं उडान नभएकोमा रामेछापबासीको गुनासो |url=https://ekantipur.com/pradesh-3/2022/09/22/166384145296785253.html |publisher=E-Kantipur |access-date=1 October 2022 |language=Nepali}}
In 2022, the Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal decided that flight to Lukla were to be operated from Ramechhap Airport instead of Kathmandu again.{{cite web |title=Lukla, Solukhumbu flights to operate from Manthali |url=https://myrepublica.nagariknetwork.com/news/lukla-solukhumbu-flights-to-operate-from-manthali/ |publisher=República |access-date=1 October 2022 |date=23 September 2022}} Despite this being the second instance, critics argued that the airport and its surrounding infrastructure was still not sufficiently developed.{{cite web |last1=Lama |first1=Kiran |title=Hundreds stuck in Ramechhap due to bad weather |url=https://thehimalayantimes.com/nepal/hundreds-stuck-in-ramechhap-due-to-bad-weather |publisher=The Himalayan Times |access-date=13 October 2022 |date=11 October 2022}}
Facilities
The airport is at an elevation of {{convert|1555|ft|0}} above mean sea level. It has one runway which is {{convert|530|m|0}} in length. The runway is 20 m wide in breadth and build of Asphalt Concrete. Parking capacity of Manthali airport is 4, D228 Type Aircraft. {{cite web |last1=Nepal |first1=Cheap Flight |title=Ramechhap Airport |url=https://nepalcheapflights.com/domestic-flights/ramechhap-to-lukla-flight.html |website=Ramechhap Airport}}
Airlines and destinations
{{airport-dest-list
|Sita Air | Lukla{{cite web |title=Regular flight started from Ramechhap to Lukla |url=https://myrepublica.nagariknetwork.com/news/regular-flight-started-from-ramechhap-to-lukla/?categoryId=81 |publisher=República |access-date=8 October 2022 |date=1 October 2022}}
Charter: Kathmandu,{{cite web|title=Flight Schedule|url=http://sitaair.com.np/demo/flight-schedule/|publisher=Sita Air|accessdate=1 May 2018}} Phaplu
|Summit Air | Lukla
Charter: Phaplu{{cite web |title=लुक्लातर्फका उडान चार दिनदेखि ठप्प, रामेछाप-फाप्लुमा धमाधम उडान गर्दै वायुसेवा |url=https://www.bizmandu.com/content/20221011130445.html |publisher=Bizmandu |access-date=13 October 2022}}
|Tara Air | Lukla
Charter: Phaplu
}}
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.{{cite web |title=Tara Air's Plane Slipped Off At Ramechhap Airport |url=https://www.spotlightnepal.com/2019/04/22/tara-airs-plane-slipped-ramechhap-airport/ |publisher=Spotlight Nepal |accessdate=1 November 2019 |date=22 April 2019}}
- 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 failure. All of the crew and passengers evacuated the aircraft safely.{{cite web |title=Summit Air makes emergency landing in Ramechhap |url=https://english.khabarhub.com/2020/22/83701/ |publisher=Khabar Hub |accessdate=15 November 2020 |date=22 March 2020}}
See also
References
{{reflist}}
External links
- {{ASN|RHP|RHP / VNRC}}
{{Airports in Nepal}}
{{authority control}}