Vyacheslav Argenberg · CC BY 4.0 · cropped
Five Nepal airports stayed closed from early Friday, Sept. 25, 2026, after poor visibility halted domestic flying, The Kathmandu Post reported from Tribhuvan International Airport authorities. Bharatpur, Pokhara, Lukla, Simara, and Surkhet did not open. Visibility at Kathmandu held near 3 kilometers from 6 a.m. through 10 a.m., and the airport ran Instrument Flight Rules while Visual Flight Rules work stayed blocked.
If you hold a Lukla, Pokhara, Chitwan, or Surkhet ticket for Friday, treat it as unusable until your airline restates it. Sita Air canceled its entire Friday program. Tara Air and Summit Air waited on weather before attempting Lukla. Check the carrier on Deep Arrival airline pages before you leave for the domestic terminal, then call the airline. International arrivals and departures at Kathmandu were still moving.
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- Closed Friday: Bharatpur, Pokhara, Lukla, Simara, and Surkhet, per Tribhuvan International Airport authorities.
- Kathmandu: About 3 km visibility at 6 a.m. and 10 a.m.; Instrument Flight Rules only for visual routes.
- Airline hits: Sita Air canceled all Friday flights; Tara Air and Summit Air held Lukla; mountain and slot flights from Tribhuvan did not operate.
- International: Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal reported no weather disruption; 10 landings and 9 takeoffs by mid-morning.
- Forecast: Department of Hydrology and Meteorology rain Thursday through Sunday, with key highways also shut.
Five Airports Named Closed From Early Friday
Tribhuvan International Airport authorities told The Kathmandu Post that flights could not operate from Bharatpur, Pokhara, Lukla, Simara, and Surkhet from early Friday. Those five names are the booking change: Chitwan (Bharatpur), the Pokhara lakeside circuit, Everest access through Lukla, the Simara corridor, and Surkhet in the west.
Friday’s domestic board listed 134 departures: 58 Buddha Air, 27 Yeti Airlines, 23 Shree Airlines, 10 each for Summit Air and Tara Air, four Sita Air, and two Nepal Airlines. The airport authority warned that some of those flights could still be canceled, delayed, or moved even if a trunk route later opens under Instrument Flight Rules.
Buddha Air separately told Lagani News that Tumlingtar, Bharatpur, and Pokhara had not come into operation because visibility was still too low. Use that as a second check if your ticket is on Buddha Air to those three fields, and wait for the airline rather than a social-media list.
Lukla Trekkers Are Waiting in Kathmandu
Lukla, officially Tenzing-Hillary Airport, is the Friday bottleneck for Everest-region trekkers. The Kathmandu Post said tourists and other passengers were waiting at Tribhuvan. Sita Air canceled every Friday flight. Tara Air and Summit Air were still waiting for weather before operating to Lukla. Those are the three carriers that normally feed the Khumbu airstrip.
Ratopati, citing the Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal, said no flights to remote slot routes or mountain flights from Tribhuvan were possible on Friday. It named Yeti Airlines’ mountain flight, Sita Air’s Lukla flight, Buddha Air and Shree Airlines mountain flights, and Nepal Airlines’ Bhojpur flight as canceled. Phaplu sat in the same delayed bucket as Lukla.
Do not assume a helicopter is a same-day substitute. If your lodge or permit clock starts this weekend, tell the lodge you are held in Kathmandu and ask whether the first open Lukla wave still matches your itinerary. A Friday no-go plus rain through Sunday can erase two walking days before you ever reach Namche.
International Flights at Tribhuvan Keep Moving
Ratopati’s Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal account said international flights had not been disrupted by weather as of Friday morning, with 10 landings and 9 takeoffs completed. That is the split that matters if you are connecting: a long-haul arrival can still get you on the ground in Kathmandu while the domestic wing stays crowded and delayed.
Tribhuvan itself was not shut. It was operating under Instrument Flight Rules, which lets equipped airliners use the main runway when visual flying is unsafe. Visual Flight Rules services, the mountain hops and many short domestic legs, were the ones stuck. The Kathmandu Post recorded about 3 kilometers of visibility at 6 a.m., still about the same at 10 a.m.
Trunk routes from Kathmandu had started to move, though still late. Ratopati said 14 domestic flights and two landings had operated on various routes by the time of its report, and that Pokhara and Bharatpur were being delayed. If your ticket is Kathmandu to a Terai or trunk field rather than Lukla, the airline may still launch after a wait. Confirm the same-day status; do not treat a morning delay as a cancellation unless the airline says so.
Closed Highways Remove the Overland Backup
Road travel is not a clean workaround on this same Friday. Ratopati, citing the weather service and road status, said the main highways linking Kathmandu east and west were obstructed. The Prithvi Highway and the Muglin-Narayangadh road were closed. The Kanti Lokpath to Hetauda and the BP Highway from Banepa to Bardibas were also shut.
That combination traps the usual Pokhara and Chitwan backups. If Bharatpur and Pokhara airports stay closed, the tourist-bus and tourist-car routes that would replace those flights are the same corridors now blocked by rain and slides. Sitting in Kathmandu until an airline reopens the sector is the rational move, not a night drive on a closed highway.
People inbound for Pokhara should also keep the separate international picture in view. flydubai’s daily Dubai to Pokhara service is a different stream from this weather halt; a long-haul ticket into Pokhara still depends on local visibility at the field. Do not assume an international arrival can land if the domestic airport remains below limits.
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Rain Through Sunday Sets the Next Check
Nepal’s Department of Hydrology and Meteorology forecast continuous rainfall across the country from Thursday through Sunday, Ratopati reported. Friday is therefore not a one-hour fog event. If you hold Saturday or Sunday Lukla, Phaplu, Pokhara, or Bharatpur tickets, re-clear them Friday evening and again before you leave the hotel.
The Kathmandu Post advised passengers to check the latest status with the airline or the airport before travelling. Use that sequence: airline first, then the airport board, then the lodge or driver. A ticket that still shows “scheduled” on a global app can sit on a VFR route that cannot launch.
If you are entering Nepal on a new e-visa window, keep the visa and the weather as separate tasks. Nepal’s pre-arrival e-visa portal does not move your domestic sector. Land in Kathmandu, rebook the mountain or Pokhara leg, and only then lock the first trekking night.
| If you… | What to do |
|---|---|
| Hold a Friday Lukla or mountain ticket | Treat it as unreleased. Sita Air canceled Friday; Tara Air and Summit Air were waiting. Rebook only after the airline posts a new time. |
| Hold Friday Pokhara, Bharatpur, Simara, or Surkhet | Those fields were named closed from early Friday. Ask the airline whether it is a delay or a cancel, then keep the Kathmandu hotel. |
| Arrive internationally at Kathmandu on Friday | International flights were operating. Budget extra time in the domestic terminal; mountain and slot flights were not going. |
| Plan to bus to Pokhara or Chitwan instead | Prithvi Highway, Muglin-Narayangadh, Kanti Lokpath, and the BP Highway were reported closed. Do not swap a closed road for a closed airport. |
Friday, Sept. 25 is the closure day. Five named airports did not open from early morning. Recheck your exact flight with the airline before you go to Tribhuvan.
Sunday is the weather window in the current forecast. Rain is advertised Thursday through Sunday. Saturday and Sunday mountain tickets need a fresh airline confirmation, not the original booking email.
Highway closures are the same-day trap. If both the airport and the connecting highway are down, stay in Kathmandu and move the lodge dates rather than forcing an overland detour.
Are Nepal airports closed on Sept. 25, 2026?
Five were named closed from early Friday: Bharatpur, Pokhara, Lukla, Simara, and Surkhet, according to Tribhuvan International Airport authorities speaking to The Kathmandu Post. Kathmandu itself stayed open under Instrument Flight Rules.
Is Lukla airport open today?
No as of Friday morning reporting. Lukla was on the closed list, Sita Air canceled all Friday flights, and Tara Air and Summit Air were waiting on weather. Ratopati also listed Phaplu with the same delay.
Are international flights landing in Kathmandu?
Yes. The Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal told Ratopati there was no weather disruption to international flights by Friday morning, with 10 landings and 9 takeoffs completed.
Did Sita Air cancel all Friday flights?
Yes. The Kathmandu Post reported that Sita Air canceled all its flights for Friday, and Ratopati separately named Sita Air’s Lukla flight among the mountain cancellations.
Can I drive to Pokhara if the airport stays closed?
Not on the routes reported Friday. The Prithvi Highway and Muglin-Narayangadh road were closed, which are the standard Kathmandu to Pokhara and Chitwan corridors.
When will Nepal weather improve for flights?
The Department of Hydrology and Meteorology forecast continuous rain Thursday through Sunday. There is no official reopen time in Friday’s notices. Recheck Saturday and Sunday tickets with the airline Friday night.
