Syangboche Airport

Syangboche Airport (Nepali: स्याङ्बोचे हवाइ-मैदान) (IATA: SYH, ICAO: VNSB) is a domestic airport located in Namche Bazaar[1] serving Solukhumbu District, a district in Koshi Province in Nepal. Syangboche Airport’s first and foremost challenge is its elevation. Perched at an astonishing 12,402 feet (3,780 meters) above sea level, the airport is exposed to some of the most extreme weather conditions found anywhere in the world. The Himalayas, renowned for their majesty, also harbor capricious weather patterns. Heavy winds, fog, and snowfall are common occurrences, and the unforgiving winter months amplify these challenges, rendering it perilous for flights to operate. The airport, encompassed by towering peaks and turbulent atmospheres, becomes a precarious stage upon which only the most audacious aircraft dare to dance

Syangboche Airport

स्याङबोचे हवाइ-मैदान
Summary
Airport typePublic
OwnerGovernment of Nepal
OperatorCivil Aviation Authority of Nepal
ServesNamche Bazaar, Solukhumbu, Nepal
Elevation AMSL12,402 ft / 3,780 m
Coordinates27°48′40.4″N 086°42′44.2″E
Map
Syangboche Airport is located in Nepal
Syangboche Airport
Syangboche Airport
Location of airport in Nepal
Runways
Direction Length Surface
m ft
13/31 405 1,329 unpaved
Sources: [1][2]
Syangboche airstrip

History

The airport was constructed in 1971 by a team led by Takashi Miyahara and was opened with a test flight by Royal Nepal Airlines on June 1, 1973.[3] It was built to serve Hotel Everest View, at the time the highest-placed hotel in the world.[4]

In the early 2000s, an expansion proposal that would let tourists skip the trek from Lukla to Namche Bazaar met opposition from Lukla entrepreneurs who feared a loss of business. However, the plans for expansion never materialized.[5]

Facilities

The airport is at an elevation of 12,297 feet (3,748 m) above mean sea level. It has one runway which is 405 metres (1,329 ft) in length.[1]

The airstrip is not licensed for commercial operations and has few facilities. There are no scheduled services and most aircraft landing and departing at Syangboche are helicopters and STOL aircraft making chartered flights from Kathmandu or Lukla. The flight from Lukla to Syangboche takes between 7 and 11 minutes by helicopter. Lukla was previously the furthest point served by scheduled flights on the way to Mount Everest.

Helicopters do fly further, and higher, up to Everest Base Camp, but only for picking up exhausted or injured mountaineers or dropping critical supplies. Without altitude acclimatization, Syangboche is the highest point advisable to reach directly by aircraft from lower elevations. It is not uncommon for people visiting Syangboche to be out of breath, due to the high altitude.

Airlines and destinations

Currently, there are no scheduled services to and from Syangboche Airport. Previously Nepal Airlines and Tara Air operated routes to Kathmandu.[6]

References
  1. Airport information for Syangboche, Nepal (VNSB / SYH) at Great Circle Mapper.
  2. "Syangboche Airport" (PDF). Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal. Retrieved 1 July 2020.
  3. Miyahara, Takashi (1982). ヒマラヤの灯―ホテル・エベレスト・ビューを建てる (in Japanese). ISBN 978-4163376806.
  4. Khatri, Shirish (November 2016). "The Himalayan Inspiration". ECS Nepal. Retrieved 3 October 2020.
  5. Limbu, Ramyata (31 May 2002). "Air war over Lukla". Nepali Times. Archived from the original on 11 July 2011.
  6. "Syangboche Airport deprived of Flight Operation from Past decade". Aviation Nepal. 9 May 2018. Retrieved 1 October 2020.


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