TIA comes into full-fledged operation in 73-year history

Kathmandu: Tribhuvan International Airport (TIA), the country's first international airport, is now operating at full capacity for the first time in its 73-year history.

According to the TIA office, Nepal’s busiest airport has experienced a significant increase in flight operations in recent days. Previously, the airport handled around 90 two-way flights daily, but that number has now risen to 110-114.

TIA’s General Manager, Pratab Babu Tiwari, reported that the airport has been serving 16,000-17,000 passengers daily since Ghatasthapana, the first day of Dashain, which commenced on Oct 15. On Oct 16, the airport witnessed a record-breaking 114 international flights, marking the highest number of daily operations in its history. The following day, this number remained high at 110 flights.

At present, TIA is reporting the highest number of flight operations in its history, thanks to the festive season and the beginning of the tourist season.

In terms of domestic service, there are 370 two-way flights operating daily to serve around 14,000 passengers.

As General Manager Tiwari mentioned, the airport is currently handling around 500 flights, both domestic and international, each day. There has been a significant increase in the number of daily flights recently, with the number of flights and passengers at an all-time high in the airport's history.

On Oct 18, the airport served over 15,000 domestic passengers. Flights of the national flag-carrier Nepal Airlines Corporation are in high demand, but they are struggling to meet the demand due to a limited number of aircraft. NAC Spokesperson Ramesh Poudel stated that NAC currently serves 16 destinations within the country through 22 flights, assisted by its two twin-otters, and flights to remote areas are limited.

Gyanendra Bhul, the information officer of the Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal (CAAN), mentioned that TIA has the capacity to handle 1,500 international passengers and 500 domestic passengers per hour, with an annual capacity of 9.2m passengers. In 2018, it served 7.2m passengers. After the Covid-19 pandemic, there has been a gradual increase in the number of flights and passengers at TIA.

TIA, as the country’s first international airport, witnessed the first-ever arrival flight by the Beechcraft Bonanza, an American general aviation aircraft. The process of converting the then Gauchar Ground into an airstrip began in 1949. On 20 Feb 1950, a Dakota aircraft departed from TIA to Kolkata, formerly Calcutta, marking the airport’s first take-off flight, launched by Himalayan Aviation.

The airport was officially inaugurated in 1955 by the then King Mahendra and was named Tribhuvan International Airport in 1964. In 1967, the airport recorded its first arrival of a jet flight, a Boeing 707 from Lufthansa Airlines, and it began commercial flight operations in 1972.