The people of Ilam and surrounding areas can soon hop on a plane and fly directly to Kathmandu. The recently constructed Falgunanda Sukilumba Airport received its very test flight on Monday with a touchdown by Tara Air just before 12PM in the afternoon. The flight from Kathmandu to Ilam took roughly one hour on the twin-otter aircraft commanded by Captain Prabhakar Ghimire and Captain Sanjib Shrestha. The airfield is expected to be blacktopped in the next year. Captain Shrestha is confident that the current runway can be operated during the dry season.
The Sukilumba Airport which will serve as a gateway to the tea estate of Ilam has a 680 meters long runway with a 30 meters width. We’ll have to wait and see of any flight announcements soon. Watch the video of the successful test flight below! (Shared by Kiran Kafle)
This is such a good news! Hopefully I’ll be able to fly to Ilam and reach my parents villages on the same day! Goodbye – flying to Bhadrapur and driving, staying over, driving and walking.
PHOTOS BY TARA AIR
