When the ground disappears, the sky must be organised

When the Bhotekoshi flood erased roads, swallowed bridges and reshaped riverbanks on August 26, the sky became the only route into some cut-off areas. Drones helped assess the destruction, but helicopters carried out the rescue and airlift work.

Army and private helicopters entered narrow valleys where radio coverage was patchy and formal air traffic control often absent. Pilots searched for landing sites that no longer matched their maps, judged unstable slopes and managed fuel, payload and altitude limits while carrying injured survivors, medical teams and emergency supplies. In some locations, they lowered baskets or landed on debris-covered clearings that had never been designed as helipads.

The operation demanded high-stakes mountain flying rather than routine aviation. Weather cells moved through the valleys with little warning, while aircraft from different operators shared confined airspace with limited common information. Pilots relied on position reports, informal traffic coordination and individual discipline. The article describes that arrangement as an improvised response, not a sustainable system.

Nepal already has many of the necessary assets. The Nepal Army has aircraft, trained crews and logistics capacity. Private operators maintain helicopters, and experienced mountain pilots work across the country. But the capabilities remain fragmented because they are activated only after disasters strike.

The proposed solution is a permanent National Disaster Aviation Unit. It would coordinate military and civilian aircraft without owning a separate fleet. Before disasters, it would maintain a live inventory of aircraft capacities, bases, crew readiness and technical limits. It would set common frequencies and dispatch procedures, prepare emergency landing zones, establish cost-sharing arrangements and run joint exercises with the Army, private operators, police, the Armed Police Force, hospitals and local governments.

The central argument is practical: Nepal does not necessarily need more helicopters first. It needs a system that can organise the helicopters already available before the next emergency.