Lukla Flights

The Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal (CAAN) announced in October 2022 that there will no longer be flights operating from Kathmandu to Lukla during peak trekking season.  They have defined peak season as Apr 1st – May 30th and October 1st – November 30th each year .  Instead guests travelling to/from Lukla by plane will need to do so from Manthali airport in Ramechhap.  This change affects all airlines and tour operators in Nepal.  Guests travelling outside of peak season will be able to fly directly between Kathmandu and Lukla. 

There are a couple caveats worth mentioning –

1.) The start and end dates of what CAAN defines as “peak trekking season” are not fixed and will change slightly each year.  Basically when things start to get busy they will move the Lukla flights to Ramechhap for the season.  They may start a couple days later and finish a couple days earlier than the dates mentioned above and as a tour operator we usually find out a day or two beforehand. If we find out the day before your flight that it will depart directly from Kathmandu we consider ourselves lucky and go with it.

2.) There will still be occasional (but rare) direct flights between Kathmandu and Ramechhap during peak season due to plane maintenance.  The reason is that there are no maintenance facilities for the airplanes in Manthali so they will periodically return to Kathmandu throughout the season. When this happens the plane will depart from there the following morning so the first flight will go direct from Kathmandu.  We have close connections with the airline staff and always attempt to get our guests on these flights when possible however it is very rare, less than 1% of the flights will operate this way.

How will this impact your trek?

For most guests this will require a vehicle to/from Ramechhap  before and after your trek.  The drive time from Kathmandu to Ramechhap is about 6-7 hours .  (This was previously 4 hours but increased after the flooding in September 2024 that damaged the road.)

(Pictured: Manthali Airport in Ramechhap)

To travel between Kathmandu and Ramechhap we have the option of a shared tourist shuttle or a private jeep. The price of our normal trek package includes the price of the shared tourist shuttle ($35 per seat). Guests will also have the option to upgrade to a private jeep if they prefer ($180 per jeep that can fit up to 5 people). iTREK will make these arrangements for you and your guide will escort you to/from the airport in the vehicle.

Here is an example of how this will affect most itineraries –

Outbound (Kathmandu to Lukla) – on the day you are scheduled to depart for Lukla you will need to wake up around 1am and make the 6-7 hour drive to Ramechhap before getting on your flight to Lukla.  Your guide will be there to assist you.

Inbound (Lukla to Kathmandu) – you will wake up at the normal time, around 6am, to get on your flight from Lukla to Ramechhap.  Most flights will arrive in Ramechhap before noon.  From there you will get into a private vehicle and drive 6-7 hours back to Kathmandu.  In most instances (barring weather delays) you will be back to Kathmandu before dark and in time for dinner.

Why did Civil Aviation Authority Nepal (CAAN) make this change?

Nepal only has one international airport which is in Kathmandu.  When the Lukla flights are operating from Kathmandu they have to compete with the international flights for the runway which causes congestion.  As Nepal’s tourism numbers have increased this problem has become worse. There have been many talks over the years to expand the Kathmandu airport or open a new international airport in Pokhara but none of these have come to fruition.

This is not the first time Nepal’s aviation authority has cancelled the flights from Kathmandu to Lukla.  They did this for a period of time in 2019 with the explanation that the domestic airport was undergoing renovations.  In a similar fashion they gave only a few weeks notice before making the change.  Flights began to operate out of Kathmandu again in 2020 and in the Fall of 2021 there were rumors that the flights would be diverted to Ramechhap once again.  The Tourism Board of Nepal pushed back on this decision and ultimately they did not implement the change.  During the Spring of 2022 flights continued to operate as normal but again rumors began to surface a few weeks before the Autumn season that they may divert them again.  Finally it was announced in early September that flights from Kathmandu to Lukla would cease to operate from 1-Oct-22.

It’s not all bad news

When they temporarily made this change in 2019 the flights to Lukla actually ran more smoothly and there were less weather delays and cancellations.  There are often short weather windows when flights can safely take-off and land in Lukla. It’s not uncommon for flights to stop running by midday due to poor visibility.  When Lukla flights are operating from Kathmandu they will often be put on hold to allow an international flight to use the runway.  Also, the flight time  from Ramechhap is only 20 minutes compared to 30 minutes from Kathmandu.  That means when the weather is good they can do more rounds of flights and clear any backlog of passengers.

Is there an option to take a helicopter instead?

Yes it is possible to take a helicopter to Lukla instead of a plane. Helicopters will continue to operate between Kathmandu and Lukla as usual.  To guarantee a seat on a helicopter we need to book it at least one month in advance.  Please let us know if you are interested in using a helicopter and we can arrange it.  The extra cost to use a helicopter is approximately $500 per person each way and this will be confirmed at the time of booking.

Is this change permanent?

The Nepal Aviation Authority has said that this will be the operating procedure for the foreseeable future.  My guess is that this will continue for many years until they either build a separate domestic airport in Kathmandu or expand the existing airport to accommodate the increase in traffic.