Biratnagar Airport is a domestic airport located in

Biratnagar Biratnagar () is a metropolitan city in Nepal, which serves as the capital of Province No. 1. With a population of 242,548 as per the 2011 census, it is the largest city in the province and also the headquarters of Morang district. As per the pr ...

serving

Morang District Morang District ( ne, मोरङ जिल्ला ) is located in Province No. 1 in eastern Nepal. It is an Outer Terai district. It borders with Bihar, India to the South, Jhapa to the East, Dhankuta and Panchthar to the North, and Sunsa ...

, Province No. 1,

Nepal Nepal (; ne, :ne:नेपाल, नेपाल ), formerly the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal ( ne, सङ्घीय लोकतान्त्रिक गणतन्त्र नेपाल ), is a landlocked country in S ...

. Biratnagar Airport is the third busiest airport in Nepal after

Kathmandu , pushpin_map = Nepal Bagmati Province#Nepal#Asia , coordinates = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = , subdivision_type1 = Province , subdivision_name1 = Bagmati Prov ...

and Pokhara. There are plans to upgrade the airport to serve international flights very soon.

History

Biratnagar Airport commenced operations on 6 July 1958. On 15 August 2017, during the August 2017 Nepal and India floods the runway of Biratnagar Airport was flooded, along with other parts of India and Nepal, and the airport was forced to suspend its operations. In 2019, the

Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal The Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal (CAAN, ne, नेपाल नागरिक उड्डयन प्राधिकरण, translit=Nepāl Nāgarik Uḍḍayan Prādhikaraṇ) is an independent civil aviation regulator. It was establishe ...

decided to upgrade the Biratnagar Airport to an international level, which includes lengthening the runway. In 2022, locals demonstrated, as they still were not compensated for the land that the Government was purchasing to expand the airport area.

Facilities

The airport is located at an elevation of above mean sea level. It has one

runway According to the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), a runway is a "defined rectangular area on a land aerodrome prepared for the landing and takeoff of aircraft". Runways may be a man-made surface (often asphalt, concre ...

designated 09/27 with an

asphalt Asphalt, also known as bitumen (, ), is a sticky, black, highly viscous liquid or semi-solid form of petroleum. It may be found in natural deposits or may be a refined product, and is classed as a pitch. Before the 20th century, the term ...

surface measuring . The airport is one of the few airports in Nepal that has its own aviation fuel depot on site, enabling aircraft to refuel here during turnover periods.

Airlines and destinations

Statistics

Accidents and incidents

*10 June 1973(2030 jestha 28) –

1973 Nepal plane hijack The 1973 Nepal plane hijack (also known as the Biratnagar Plane Hijack) was the first plane hijacking in the history of Nepal. Girija Prasad Koirala planned the hijack to steal money that the Nepal Rastra Bank was having transported from Biratna ...

: A

Royal Nepal Airlines Nepal Airlines Corporation ( ne, नेपाल वायुसेवा निगम, Nepāl Vāyusevā Nigam, Nepal Air Service Corporation), formerly known as Royal Nepal Airlines ( ne, शाही नेपाल वायुसेवा, ...

flight from Biratnagar to

Kathmandu , pushpin_map = Nepal Bagmati Province#Nepal#Asia , coordinates = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = , subdivision_type1 = Province , subdivision_name1 = Bagmati Prov ...

, operated by a de Havilland Canada DHC-6 Twin Otter (9N-ABB), was taken over by three hijackers of the

Nepali Congress The Nepali Congress ( ne, नेपाली कांग्रेस ; abbr. NC) is the largest social democratic political party in Nepal. As per the results of recent local election, ''Nepali Congress'' stands as the single largest party of ...

party who demanded money and escaped after landing in

Bihar Bihar (; ) is a state in eastern India. It is the 2nd largest state by population in 2019, 12th largest by area of , and 14th largest by GDP in 2021. Bihar borders Uttar Pradesh to its west, Nepal to the north, the northern part of West ...

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

. None of the three crew and 18 passengers were injured.Nepal Magazine
". Retrieved 18 November 2006. *18 November 1981, a Pilatus PC-6 (Porter & Turbo Porter) of

cashed after initial climb after it lost height. The fatalities included 1 crew and 9 passengers. * In October 2021, the airport closed for four days due to flooding of runway by torrential rainfall.

References

External links

* {{authority control Airports in Nepal Province No. 1 Buildings and structures in Morang District Biratnagar 1958 establishments in Nepal