Pokhara, a valley filled with majestic beauty. It is well-known for its tranquil ambience and the breathtaking beauty of the surrounding landscape. Its pristine air, the magnificent backdrop of the snowy peaks of the Annapurna Range, and the serene Phewa, Begnas, and Rupa Lakes, make this place ‘the Jewel of the Himalaya’. Pokhara, a lake city, is a glimpse of heaven on Earth. Pokhara Valley is the second-largest valley in Nepal’s hilly area, located 200 kilometers west of Kathmandu. It serves as the headquarters of Kaski District, Gandaki Zone, and the Western Development Region.

Pokhara is one of the most popular tourist destinations in Nepal. A panoramic view of snow-capped mountains, green hillocks, a wide and beautiful valley, pristine water lakes, limestone caves, waterfalls, gushing rivers, gorges, etc. are natural attractions, and various ethnic communities and their rich traditions, temples, monasteries, museums, etc. are its other additional attractions. Pokhara is also famous for boating, trekking, rafting, paragliding, zip lining, and extreme sports like rafting, canoeing, and bungee jumping. According to the Nepal Tourism Board, the number of international tourists to Pokhara in 2019 was 1,197,191 and the same year, 480,000 international tourists visited Nepal, and the number is increasing every year.

Thus, in anticipation of a spurt in tourist arrivals, construction of Pokhara International Airport was started. Pokhara International Airport is an airport just completed it’s construction in Pokhara, Gandaki Province, Nepal. It is located 3 km (1.9 mi) east of the existing domestic airport, which it will replace, and is around 800 meters above mean sea level. The airport is the third international airport in Nepal.

Heading back to the airport’s history, construction started in April 2016 and was expected to be completed in 2021 at a cost of around US$305 million, out of which the Export-Import Bank of China provided around 215 million USD in preferential loans to Nepal, China Aid provided part of the loan interest to lower the total loan interest, the Asian Development Bank supported with USD 37 million in loans and grants, and the OPEC Fund for International Development provided an USD 11 million loan. The airport is projected to handle one million passengers per year. Moving forward with the construction of Pokhara International Airport, prime minister KP Sharma Oli laid the foundation stone in April 2016, with the vision of opening the airport on July 10, 2021. It was proposed in 2020 to open both of Nepal’s new international airports, Pokhara and Gautam Buddha Airport, on the same day. However, it was found in 2020 that the nearby Rithepani Hill at the eastern end of the approach would need to be flattened to ease the approach to the airport, where locals were outraged by this decision. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic in Nepal in 2021, the building date was pushed back to 2022. Officials declared in October 2021 that the airport will open in two stages: domestic flights has begun in January 2022, followed by international flights in April 2022. In 2022, it was reported that calibration flights would commence in October 2022. Due to a lack of flight inspections, the Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal postponed the opening to December 20, 2022, in mid-2020. Finally On August 8, 2022, the Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal confirmed the official opening date of January 1, 2023.

The new Pokhara Airport is built to the ICAO, IATA, and FAA Category 4D standards. The international apron at this airport can handle up to three narrow-body aircraft with two aerobridges, while the domestic apron can accommodate up to eight aircraft: four ATR-72-sized turboprops and four smaller STOL aircraft. The airport has a single 2,500-meter (8,200-foot) runway that is 45 meters wide and 34 cm deep. It is east-west oriented and has a 330-meter runway strip. The airport features a concrete runway with a centerline, edge, touchdown zone, and threshold markings. The taxiway, which is 1.2 km long and 23 m wide, is built parallel to the runway from the runway’s central line on the north side. Two 182.5 x 23-meter exit taxiways, access roads, and aerodrome pavement are also part of the airside infrastructure improvements. The runway accommodates commercial aircraft with 150–200 seat capacity, such as the Airbus A320 and the Boeing 737 series, and has a 2,500-square-meter air traffic control tower and operations facility, as well as an air navigation unit. The VHF omnidirectional range along with distance measuring equipment (VOR/DME) and required area navigation (RNAV/RNP) are the two non-precision approaches that are available at the Pokhara Airport. The airport also has a Category I Precision Approach ILS system, which includes tools like a localizer and glide path to assist inbound, ILS-equipped aircraft. A wide area multilateration (WAM) based surveillance system, the first of its kind in Nepal, is additionally supported by an eight-story air traffic control tower. To aid with the approach, high-intensity 870-meter (2,850-foot) extended centerline lights are erected at the airport’s southern end. It has advanced communication, navigation, and monitoring systems, as well as a high-end navigational lighting system. Approach and landing instructions will include a QNH altimeter setting.

The airport has two public terminals, one for international traffic and one for local traffic. The new airport infrastructure includes a steel-roofed international terminal building of 10,000 square meters and a customs and cargo facility of 3,500 square meters. The international terminal can handle up to 610 people leaving every hour. One million people will be able to transit through two terminals, one domestic and one international. The 4,000-square-meter domestic terminal is located on the airport’s western side. The airport has an access road that links to the Prithvi Highway and is approximately 1 km away from the highway. It has two arrival lanes and two departure lanes, which are separated by a green belt and a footpath on either side.

In terms of physical layout and design, the airport consists of 14 buildings. Terminal Building, Security Building, Control Tower and Operations Building, Management Building, Cargo Building, Integrated Building, Special Garage, Fire Station, Hangar, Waste Transfer Station, Sewage Treatment Station, Water Supply Station, Central Sub Station, and Lighting Substation are all part of it. It has a total area of 14,643.76 square meters and a seat capacity of 224 for domestic departures and 312 for international departures, including 12 in the transfer hall area. It has a total passenger processing capacity of 610 passengers per peak hour (domestic: 371 and international: 239).

The International Departure Area, which is 6,180 square meters, is made up of the following components:

International Airlines Offices

International Terminal Duty Office

Departing Passenger Check-In Area

Baggage Reconciliation Room

Health Inspection Desk and Medical Room

Nepal Police/Special Bureau Rooms

Cupps Room

National Investigation Office Room

Immigration Gates and Rooms

Security Check Gates and Rooms

Custom (Tax Refund) Room

Sterile Waiting Hall

Boarding Gates (3 in total)

 

Moving on to International Arrivals (an area of 2,286 square meters), it consists of:

Entry Of International Arriving Passengers From Bay Number 2 And 3 Via Passenger Boarding Bridge And From Bay Number 1 Via Coach

Health Inspection, Medical, and Isolation Rooms

Plant & Pesticides, Animal And Food Quarantine Room

Banking Counter

Nepal Police/Special Bureau Room

Immigration Gates and Rooms

Hand Baggage Check For Custom Purpose

Custom Rooms

Baggage Claim

Unclaimed Baggage and Precious Goods Room

Baggage Inquiry Room

Custom Declaration

Exit

 

The following terminal area is Domestic Departures (Area 1,878 Sq. M.), which is divided into four sections:

Departing Domestic Passenger Check-In Area

Security Check

Sterile Waiting Hall

Boarding Gates (3 in total)

 

It also features a Domestic Arrivals area (Area 677 Sq. M.), which is divided into:

Departing Domestic Passenger Check-In Area

Security Check

Sterile Waiting Hall

Boarding Gates (3 in total)

Furthermore, it has space segregated for both International and Domestic VIPs. The security building and control building are there for security and maintenance and have a WHF, WAM display, touch screen flight progress strip, approach control unit, and CNS. The security system is top-notch and assured with the help of walk-through metal detectors, hold baggage X-ray machines, hand baggage X-ray machines, mm-wave body scanners, security gates, explosive detectors, hand-held metal detectors, CCTV, perimeter security by the Nepal Army, passenger screening by the Nepal Police, and an isolation bay.

Bird-frightening devices, bird patrols, and bird spikes are utilized as safety precautions. Furthermore, all management, administration, and ground operations are handled by the management building, which has its own office area, general manager’s room, aerodrome operating directorate, conference hall, and canteen. Additionally, the cargo building (1498 sq. m.) with export (670 sq. m.) and import (828 sq. m.) areas contains a well-maintained cargo office, a transport office, and dangerous products management. Outside the building, there is a parking lot with a capacity of 50 taxis and 183 cars and larger vehicles. For better service and comfort, travelers have access to: drinking water, toilets, a baby care area, a kids’ play zone, a flight information display system, a banking facility, a restaurant and a cafeteria, and transportation. The airport’s air traffic service navigation routes have already been published in the International Civil Aviation Organization’s Aeronautical Information Publication (AIP).

The airport’s inauguration and functioning is one of the most anticipated milestones in Nepalese travel industry history and will surely be a boon for the tourism sector in Nepal. It shall contribute to further social and economic benefits by promoting tourism, trade, connectivity, and employment, as well as raising the overall standard of living by driving people’s development in the modern world. And for the rest of the globe, paradise is now only a flight away!!!

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