Nepalese service members offload supplies from a U.S. Marine Corps MV-22 Osprey assigned to Joint Task Force 505 humanitarian assistance and disaster relief at Manthali, the 2015 earthquake.[citation needed]
The airport was opened in October 1979.[2] In 2015, the runway was renovated and upgraded from a grass/clay surface to concrete.[3]
In 2019, as the sole runway of
Tribhuvan International Airport in
Kathmandu was being renovated and the airport was closed over night, all flights to
Lukla were operated from Ramechhap Airport, the closest airport to Kathmandu, as these flights need to take off early in the morning to not get caught in dangerous winds in Lukla.[4][5][6] During peak, the airport served 24 flights per day,[7] However, the airport had serious problems handling the mass of
tourists traveling to Lukla.[8] Following this, plans were developed to upgrade the airport.[9] By 2020[when?], flights to Lukla were operated from Kathmandu again,[citation needed] and with
Tara Air's discontinuation of the flight to Kathmandu, the airport was left without scheduled operations.[10]
In 2022, the
Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal decided that flight to Lukla were to be operated from Ramechhap Airport instead of Kathmandu again.[11] Despite this being the second instance, critics argued that the airport and its surrounding infrastructure was still not sufficiently developed.[12]
Facilities
The airport is at an
elevation of 1,555 feet (474 m) above
mean sea level. It has one
runway which is 518 metres (1,699 ft) in length.[1]
22 April 2019 – A
Tara AirDornier 228 aircraft skidded off the runway upon landing at Ramechhap Airport. Due to adverse weather, the flight from
Tribhuvan International Airport to
Lukla Airport was diverted to Ramechhap Airport. All of the crew and passengers evacuated the aircraft safely.[16]
20 March 2020 – A
Summit AirLet 410 en route from Lukla to Kathmandu made an emergency landing at Ramechhap Airport due to an engine failiues. All of the crew and passengers evacuated the aircraft safely.[17]