Khanidanda Airport back in operation

KHOTANG, July 4: Locals have cheered the resumption of flight services at Khanidanda Airport in Khotang after a six-month closure following completion of blacktopping. Tara Air started made a test flight to Kathmandu from the airport on Tuesday. Tara Air and Simrik Air have made public their flight schedule for the regular services to Kathmandu. Operations were halted after the blacktop work started in January.

Durga Prasad Ghimire, chairman of the Airport Construction Consumer Committee there, said both the airlines had announced decision to fly there on a regular basis. Tara Air will fly to Kathmandu on Tuesdays while Simrik Air’s Kathmandu services are scheduled for Thursdays. Ghimire, however, said Nepal Airlines Corporation (NAC) is yet to prepare its schedules. Before the blacktopping, NAC flew there on Sundays, Tuesdays and Fridays. For the first time, the airport will also start allowing services during the rainy season thanks to the blacktopping.
The 590-meter-long and 20-meter-wide runway was blacktopped with an investment of Rs 70 million. The work was completed recently as per schedule.