Nepalgunj Airport, Airport Guide, Travel
The Nepalgunj Airport in Nepal is not one of the most popular airports in Nepal, but it definitely sees enough passenger and cargo traffic to sustain it. People often get direct flights to and from the airport, but may also choose to pass through as part of a connecting flight to another part of the country. The airport is located in Nepalgunj, which is probably the best access point for many of the surrounding areas. These areas include Rukumkot, Dolpa, Jomsom and Pokhara.
The airport is served by two main airlines – Cosmic Air and Yeti Airlines. Cosmic Air only really provides direct flights to Kathmandu from Nepalgunj, but Yeti Airlines offers a wider variety of destinations including Dolpa, Kathmandu, Simikot and Rukumkot. The airport code for Nepalganj Airport is KEP and the airport sees roughly ten flights arrive and depart every week. The largest aircraft that takes off and lands at Nepalganj Airport is big enough to seat roughly 100 people, but the average flight has just under twenty seats available. Most of the commercial flights take place on a DHT with a seating capacity of only nineteen. Yeti Airlines offers one flight to Kathmandu, Dolpa, Rukumkot and Simikot daily on a DHT aircraft. Despite the small aircraft used and the low number of flights conducted, this relatively small airport sees more than 1,590 passengers leave and arrive at Nepalganj every week.
Nepalgunj is a border town in western Nepal and it is often viewed as being the perfect starting point for treks to the Dopolo plateau and the Jumla region. This has given the Nepalgunj airport a somewhat vital role since the town would be rather difficult to reach without the services of an airport. Hence, even though the airport is small and sees very low amounts of air traffic, its role is a very important one. The traffic it conducts – especially with regards to tourists – helps to support the local economy to quite a large degree. Nepalgunj Airport offers four non-stop flights to different cities in Nepal. It also sees a lot of other traffic in the form of connecting flights to other cities and towns. Other lesser known destinations that are catered for at Nepalganj Airport include Bhairawa, Lucknow, Jumla, Surkhet and Meghauli.