Nepal's Iconic Airfield
What is it like to fly to Lukla?
06.06.2018
The flight to Lukla in Nepal is the first bit of excitement you will have during a trek to Mt Everest Base Camp in Nepal.
In fact, for many people the excitement starts at the Kathmandu airport, which might be one of the more (apparently) chaotic places they’ve ever been to. There is a system, though, and your guides will sort it all out for you. Just understand that there can be a fair amount of “hurry up and wait,” followed by a sudden rush to move.
The planes are small, carrying no more than 18 people. This is because the runway in Lukla is quite short (around 1,700 feet), which in turn is because there just isn’t much flat land in those parts. In fact, the runway isn’t flat at all; it is sloped at about a 12-degree angle, making it possible only for small, short-takeoff planes to get in and out. They land going up and take off going down.
Flights will only go if the weather is good at Lukla; often the critical element is wind, not clouds, although the planes won’t go in a total cloud bank. In Nepal, they have an expression: “We don’t fly in clouds, because our clouds have mountains in them.”
This lack of certainty is why we at Embark always schedule a “cushion day” during and after our trek.
The flight, which is louder than most and can be a little bumpy, runs about 25 minutes, with the planes staying low since they are not pressurized. This leads to the planes, in effect, flying through passes and at times remarkably close to the ground. And the landing at Lukla can be pretty intense. The plane comes in hot, as they say, hitting the runway — while going uphill — with such force that the tires tend to be under-inflated to handle the impact.
All of this raises an obvious question: is the flight to Lukla safe? Well, despite some publications calling it “the most dangerous airport in the world,” in fact crashes are quite rare.
Once all this excitement is behind you, it’s time for the real adventure: trekking to Mount Everest Base Camp! And most people start hiking right off the plane. Day 1 is typically from Lukla to Phakding.
