World’s most dangerous airport does not have weather forecasting instrument

SOLUKHUMBU, Sept 12: The most dangerous airport in the world – the Tenzing – Hillary Airport located at Lukla of Solukhumbu district – does not have the necessary infrastructure to deal with the unpredictable alpine weather system.

The organizations world over have listed the alpine runaway strip, known as Lukla airport in Nepal, as the most dangerous due to its short runaway, geographical remoteness and the notoriously unpredictable weather.

It may be surprising to note that the airport, located at the gateway to Mt Everest, does not have a weather forecasting instrument.

The pilots say that once you enter the Lukla region there is no turning back no matter how worse the weather gets. The geographical location is such that airplanes that enter the region have no other option but to land.

The Lukla airport entertains around a hundred flights per day during the peak tourist season when tourists flock to see Mt Everest, the world’s highest peak.

The airport is notorious for fatal accidents that repeat almost every year. Civil Aviation Authority, Lukla has been sending repeated appeals for installation of such instrument, but in vain. Many other dangerous airports across the country are faced with similar and hazardous problems. RSS