Flights Suspended at Nepal's Tribhuvan Airport Due to Power Outage

Post by : Raina Nasser

Flight activities at Kathmandu's Tribhuvan International Airport (TIA) faced an unexpected halt on Saturday due to a significant electrical failure affecting the runway lights. The incident started around 5:30 p.m., resulting in a suspension of domestic and international services for several hours.

Airport authorities reported that the electrical malfunction led to the runway lights failing, posing safety risks for takeoffs and landings. This disruption resulted in the redirection of several flights while engineers worked diligently to fix the issue.

After an extensive maintenance period exceeding four hours, normal flight operations resumed at approximately 10:00 p.m. local time. An airport representative confirmed, “The problem was resolved after over four hours of maintenance.”

During the outage, multiple flights were diverted: Qatar Airways redirected to Dhaka, Korean Air to Delhi, and Fly Dubai to Lucknow. Domestic flights from Buddha Air were also sent to alternative regional airports in Nepal.

While the airport management has yet to provide specific details on the root cause of the electrical disruption, early indications suggest it arose from the airfield lighting system—a vital resource aiding pilots during nighttime and poor visibility landings.

As Nepal's sole international airport, Tribhuvan International plays a crucial role in connecting the nation to the world, accommodating hundreds of flights each day. The interruption caused notable inconvenience for travelers and impacted numerous pre-scheduled services.

Operational capacity has since returned to normal, with assurances from officials that further inspections will be conducted to avert future occurrences.