New Heliport Bhaktapur: Boosting Helicopter Operations in Nepal
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A new Heliport opened in Nalinchowk, Bhaktapur; Seeks to optimize helicopter operations, easing congestion at TIA and catering to various services.
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A new heliport has just opened up in Nalinchowk, Bhaktapur! The Civil Aviation Authority allocated about 25 crore rupees last fiscal year to develop it.
According to Subas Jha, spokesperson for Tribhuvan International Airport, the construction of the heliport's blacktop runway and ground facilities is fully complete. Test flights have already happened too. Now they're just waiting on the test flight reports before commercial operations can begin.
Jha mentioned the terminal building and towers are still being built. Of the total budget, 15 crore was for the heliport itself and 10 crore for structures like the terminal. The contract to build the heliport was awarded last August.
This heliport will be able to accommodate up to 26 helicopters at once, which is great. As you probably know, there are around three dozen helicopters currently operating in Nepal. And they can't all just be based out of Kathmandu - many reposition to Pokhara and Simikot during peak tourist season when there's more demand for flights to places like Lukla.
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In addition to tourist charters, helicopters here are utilized for VIP transport, emergency medical evacuations, disaster response, and transporting construction materials to remote areas.
The heliport is being built on 33 ropanis of the CAA's own land in Nalinchowk. Fuel storage, firefighting equipment, hangars, and office spaces for helicopter companies will all be housed there too.
The goal is to take some pressure off Tribhuvan International by moving helicopter operations out of Kathmandu. Once open, passengers can go directly to Nalinchowk to catch their charter flights.
Jha thinks it'll help reduce congestion in the city a bit. But air traffic control will still be handled from Tribhuvan's tower. While there are dedicated staff for the heliport, they plan to use the same communications network, so that part won't see much change.
According to Raju Neupane, Secretary of the Airlines Association and Safety Manager at Manang Air, having a dedicated heliport away from the main airport should make helicopter operations smoother. Right now at Tribhuvan, helicopters share the tarmac with large planes, so it gets crowded. Based on CAA directives, companies are prepared to shift to Nalinchowk once it opens.