Welcome back to Simply Aviation! Today we will be taking a look at the airport at Lukla, and why it is considered the most dangerous airport in the world!

Known as the gateway to Mt. Everest, Lukla's Tenzing Hilary Airport (LUA) in Nepal has also been given the nickname, “The World's Most Dangerous Airport”. As it happens, this is not without good reason, as the airport has been the site of multiple fatal accidents over the years, resulting in the death of over 50 passengers and crew. So what exactly makes landing at Lukla so dangerous?

Lukla is only a 30-minute flight from Tribhuvan International Airport (KTM), which serves the Nepalese capital city of Kathmandu. However, the latter sits at 4,390 feet (1,338 meters) above sea level, while the former has an altitude of 9,337 feet (2,846 meters). The small mountain village runway saw close to 130,000 passengers in 2019, and its annual peak (2017) saw just under 147,000.

Most head for trekking expeditions in the Himalayas, with some on their way to attempt the more dangerous climb of Everest. About 800 people now climb Everest every year, and, in the 2019 season, there were nine deaths on the mountain. All in all, over 300 people have perished on their way up or down from the summit, so, in comparison, the odds of making a safe landing at Lukla are not that offputting.

Rather fittingly, the airport is, named after Sherpa Tenzing Norgay and Sir Edmund Hillary, the first two people to climb Mount Everest. It has a veritable mix of all the things that present a challenge for planes and their pilots, which have helped cement its reputation as the world's most dangerous airport over the years.

Various Challenges

Indeed, not only does Lukla Airport sit at a high altitude (although nowhere near as high as Daocheng Yading Airport in Tibet at 4,411 meters), but it is flanked by nearly 7,000-meter-high peaks. These include the peaks of Kusum Kanguru at 6,367 meters, and Numbur at 6,959 meters. The conditions in the valley often generate strong wind shear, making it a difficult place to fly a commercial aircraft.

Additionally, the thinner air at found high altitudes makes it more difficult for engines to generate thrust. Meanwhile, the reduced resistance also makes it harder to slow the plane down, which means the longer the runway, the better.

However, Lukla Airport's runway (with the headings 06/24) is not very accommodating in this regard. Made out of paved asphalt and sitting on a narrow mountain shelf, it measures no more than 527 meters (or 1,729 feet) in length.

A well-trained track-and-field athlete could run it in about 60 seconds, or maybe a bit longer when you factor in the location's high altitude. As the runway is so short, it has a 12% uphill incline to assist planes in slowing down as they land.

Its location on an incline boils down to the fact that, at the time of the airport's construction, local farmers did not want to give up the precious little flat land that was available in the area. As for the runway, it wasn't paved until 2001.

Due to the mountainous terrain, there are no go-around procedures at the airport. As such, this means that once a pilot has commenced an approach, they are committed to landing. Additionally, there are no radar or navigation systems at the airport, so pilots are fully dependent on what they can see from the cockpit.

A Limited Range of Aircraft

Because of these conditions, only helicopters and small turboprops such as De Havilland DHC-6 Twin Otters, Pilatus PC-6 Porters, Dornier Do-228s, and L-410 Turbolets can use the airport. Despite these precautions, Lukla has still seen a considerable number of accidents.

Up to 50% of Flights Get Cancelled at Certain Times

Those familiar with the Himalayas know that the weather in this mountainous region is extremely unpredictable. As such, flights from Kathmandu often turn around if there is a sudden shift in the conditions at Lukla. During the monsoon season, about 50% of flights are canceled because of low visibility, and it is also common for the airport to close during mid to late mornings due to crosswinds.

Thank you for reading Simply Aviation! I hope you enjoyed the article and I will see you again next time!