Floods revive questions over Nepal’s abandoned mountain airstrip

When devastating floods tore through the river basins of Rasuwa and Nuwakot last week, reaching the affected areas by air became a challenge in itself. Landslides and flooding reshaped the landscape, while the absence of an air traffic control tower complicated the movement of dozens of military and civilian helicopters.

During the emergency, helicopters operated under military supervision from an open area at the Nepal Army’s training centre in Trishuli. Military and civilian flight records show nearly 1,000 take-offs and landings in Trishuli and nearby areas over the course of a week.

The crisis has brought a largely forgotten airstrip back into the conversation. Langtang airport, at an elevation of 3,658 metres, is little more than a name in official records for many people who grew up after Nepal’s political transition in 1990. Veteran aviation officials and pilots, however, remember its short, rough runway in the mountains of Rasuwa as infrastructure that could have proved valuable during the disaster.

The debate centres on whether an operational Langtang airport could have eased the burden on helicopter crews. Five helicopter trips carrying people or relief supplies could potentially have been replaced by one flight from a small aircraft. Communications and air traffic management facilities could also have helped organise helicopter movements more efficiently, leaving additional room for search missions, relief deliveries and charter flights.

“If the Langtang airport had been operational, it could have provided significant support for relief and rescue operations,” said Gyanendra Bhul, an information officer for the Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal and an air traffic controller. Lalit Bikram Shah, a former director general of the aviation department, said an airport’s value should not be judged only by the revenue it generates during normal operations. Lives saved during disasters, he said, must also be considered, even if that value cannot be measured in cash.

Several decades ago, single-engine Pilatus Porters used the airstrip to carry tourists, project supplies and charter passengers into a part of Rasuwa without road access. The latest floods have turned that history into a wider question about how Nepal assesses infrastructure in a country repeatedly exposed to earthquakes, floods and landslides.

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If the Langtang airport had been operational, it could have provided significant support for relief and rescue operations.