Tenzing-Hillary Airport
I1 i3
I8 i10 i12
The Tenzing - Hillary Airport ( IATA: LUA, ICAO: VNLK, formerly Lukla Airport ) in Lukla is an airfield for STOL aircraft that can be reached in half an hour flight from Kathmandu and today most of the tourist, the Everest touring the region, serves as a starting point, especially for the Mount Everest trek. He is due to its investment as altiport.
History
The airstrip was built in 1964 under the supervision of Edmund Hillary of local Sherpas for 2650 U.S. dollars. It was only in 2001 began the paving of gravel roads and the construction of a terminal and a new control tower.
In January 2008, after the death of Edmund Hillary, the Nepalese government the airport after Hillary and Tenzing Norgay decided in future be designated as Tenzing - Hillary Airport.
Airfield
The flight replaces a one-week journey from walk from Jiri, otherwise the Khumbu region accessible only by helicopter or by plane.
The airfield is served several times as a function of weather and visibility conditions on the day from Kathmandu. The slope of the 527 m long runway is around 12 %, and it can only be uphill served. The end of the runway abruptly cut about 600 m deep Dudh Kosi from the. This fact makes takeoffs and landings on this altiport a breathtaking experience and the airfield to one of the world's most dangerous places. Although there is only one common start and runway, done takeoffs and landings sometimes encountered in the opposite direction every few minutes, with the launching aircraft in the Dudh Kosi valley remains at a lower altitude and so the present in the landing approach at the same plane with some height distance.
With a daily clearance of over 50 flights to Lukla is in high season the busiest domestic airport in Nepal. The airlines and pilots are in the settlement under great time pressure, on the one hand often major congestion at Kathmandu airport and Lukla arise with multi-day waiting periods, on the other hand, in the afternoon due to the mountain and valley wind circulation often deteriorate even in principle, good weather Lukla. If the Lukla airport is locked, about 23 km south west, makeshift airfield Phaplu ( VNPL ) is occasionally used as an intermediate station, could be flown to Lukla from that in Wetteraufklarung correspondingly fast. Phaplu is usually flown single-engine Pilatus PC -6. For flight to Lukla especially the STOL aircraft de Havilland Canada DHC -6 ( Twin Otter ) and Dornier 228 are used by the airlines.
Since the accident on 8 October 2008 (cause: poor visibility ) is a bit more cautious process, which in turn caused, for example, in November 2011, about 2500 tourists were stranded in Lukla due to bad weather flight.
Airlines
The Tenzing Hillary Airport is served by the following airlines:
Traffic figures
Accidents
Anecdotes
It is said that Edmund Hillary had been dissatisfied with the construction of the original landing strip with the soil strength. Then he brought all his Sherpas to carry out on the site a two-day festival dance. Then the ground by the pounding of the dancers had been sufficiently established.