Post by : Rameen Ariff

On Saturday, Tribhuvan International Airport (TIA) in Kathmandu, Nepal, experienced a temporary suspension of all flight operations due to a severe electrical malfunction that impacted the runway lighting system. The disruption started around 5:30 p.m. and halted both domestic and international flights for several hours.

Airport officials reported that the electrical failure resulted in the shutdown of the runway lights, compromising safety for takeoffs and landings. This unfortunate event led to the diversion of several flights while maintenance crews worked diligently to restore services.

After more than four hours of intense repairs, operations were confirmed to be back online around 10:00 p.m. local time. A staff member at the airport noted, “After over four hours of maintenance work, the problem was fixed.”

During the outage, two domestic flights and three international flights had to be diverted to alternate airports. Qatar Airways redirected to Dhaka, Korean Air to Delhi, and Fly Dubai to Lucknow. Additionally, Buddha Air's two domestic flights were rerouted to other regional airports within Nepal.

Though the exact cause of the electrical issue remains undisclosed, initial assessments suggest it might have stemmed from the airfield lighting system, which is essential for safe landings during nighttime or low visibility circumstances.

As Nepal's sole international gateway, Tribhuvan International Airport operates hundreds of flights daily and is a key hub connecting the nation globally. This suspension caused considerable inconvenience for passengers and disrupted numerous pre-scheduled flights.

Fortunately, operations have resumed normally, with officials pledging to conduct thorough inspections to avoid future outages.

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