Airport type Public 06/24 527 1,729 Asphalt Code LUA Serves Lukla | Elevation AMSL 9,334 ft / 2,845 m 527 1,729 Elevation 2,860 m Phone +977 981-5946280 | |
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Address Chaurikharka V.D.C. 56010, Nepal Similar Syangbo Airport, Phaplu Airport, Yeti Mountain Home, Tengboche Monastery, Syangbo Panorama Resort | ||
Tenzing–Hillary Airport (IATA: LUA, ICAO: VNLK), also known as Lukla Airport, is a small airport in the town of Lukla, in Khumbu, Solukhumbu District, Province No. 1, eastern Nepal. A program titled Most Extreme Airports, broadcast on The History Channel in 2010, rated the airport as the most dangerous airport in the world for over 20 years.
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In January 2008 the airport was renamed in honor of Sherpa Tenzing Norgay and Sir Edmund Hillary, the first people to reach the summit of Mount Everest and also to mark their efforts in the construction of this airport.
The airport is popular because Lukla is the place where most people start the climb to Mount Everest Base Camp. There are daily flights between Lukla and Kathmandu during daylight hours in good weather. Although the flying distance is short, rain commonly occurs in Lukla while the sun is shining brightly in Kathmandu. High winds, cloud cover, and changing visibility often mean flights can be delayed or the airport closed. The airport is contained within a chain link fence and patrolled by the Nepali armed police or civil police around the clock.
Facilities
The airport's paved asphalt runway is accessible only to helicopters and small, fixed-wing, short-takeoff-and-landing aircraft such as the De Havilland Canada DHC-6 Twin Otter, Dornier Do 228, L-410 Turbolet and Pilatus PC-6 Turbo Porter. The runway is 527 m (1,729 ft) × 30 m (98 ft) with a 11.7% gradient. The airport's elevation is 9,334 ft (2,845 m). The airport is not only used for passenger flights, but also for transporting most of the building material and cargo to the town, as most of the roofs on the houses at Lukla have to be transported by aircraft.
Aircraft can use runway 06 only for landings and runway 24 only for takeoffs. There is low prospect of a successful go-around on short final due to the terrain. There is high terrain immediately beyond the northern end of the runway and a steeply angled drop at the southern end of the runway into the valley below.
The apron has four stands and there is one helipad located 140 m (460 ft) from the control tower. No landing aids are available and the only air traffic service is an Aerodrome Flight Information Service.
Flight schedule
Flights to and from the Tenzing–Hillary Airport normally occur between 6:30 am and 3:30 pm.