Pokhara International Airport to be equipped with IFR system

POKHARA, Feb 20: Pokhara International Airport will be equipped with the Instrument Flight Rules (IFR) system in a week. The Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal (CAAN) said  that the preparations for the operation of the IFR system at Pokhara's new airport have been completed on Thursday, February 23.

CAAN spokesperson Jagannath Niraula said that after the implementation of IFR in Pokhara, airline companies are interested in regular international flights from Pokhara. According to him, Korean Air, Wizz Air, Himalaya Airlines, Nepal Airlines Corporation and others have shown interest in international flights.

The CAAN said that the IFR system is a fully mechanical operating system and compared to Visual Flight Rules (VFR), although IFR flight takes some time, it is relatively safe and comfortable. Pokhara's new airport is considered to be suitable for taking off and landing only for small planes. It is said that Korean and Wizz Air have A321Neo aircraft with a capacity of 190 seats. Himalaya Airlines has already conducted a test flight to Pokhara with a narrow body Airbus 320.

According to the CAAN, there is still a clear discussion about the technical aspects including the planes, passenger capacity and destinations of the interested companies. The airport, which has been operating from January 1, is currently being operated by Buddha Air, Yeti Airlines, Shree Airlines, Saurya Airlines, Guna Airlines and other domestic airline