Nepal Airports Guide — Complete Directory for Flight Search & Travel Planning

Source: Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal (CAAN) airport register. Nepal currently operates 3 international airports, 2 domestic hub airports, and 27 active domestic airports.

Overview

Nepal's aviation network is built around one dominant international gateway (Kathmandu) and a growing web of short-runway domestic and STOL (Short Take-Off and Landing) airports that connect the Himalayan foothills, the Terai plains, and remote mountain districts. For a flight-search platform, airports should be grouped into four tiers: International, Domestic Hubs, Major Domestic, and Mountain & Trekking (STOL) — because the booking behavior, aircraft type, and traveler intent differ sharply between them.

1. International Airports

Nepal has three airports certified for international operations. All three also carry heavy domestic traffic.

Tribhuvan International Airport (KTM) — Kathmandu

• ICAO: VNKT | Elevation: 4,390 ft (1,338 m) AMSL
• Runway: 02/20, 3,350 m (10,991 ft), asphalt, tabletop runway
• Nepal's sole full-scale international hub, opened in 1955 and serving 8–9 million passengers a year
• Connects Nepal to 40+ destinations across roughly 17 countries; hub for Nepal Airlines and Himalaya Airlines, with major carriers including Qatar Airways, Turkish Airlines, flydubai, Singapore Airlines, Air India, and Thai Airways
• Also the busiest domestic airport in the country — nearly every domestic route in Nepal either starts or ends here
• For the site: this is your highest-traffic page. Build KTM as the central hub linking to every domestic and mountain airport route page (KTM–Lukla, KTM–Pokhara, KTM–Bhairahawa, etc.)

Gautam Buddha International Airport (BWA) — Bhairahawa / Siddharthanagar (Lumbini)

• ICAO: VNBW | Elevation: 344 ft (105 m) AMSL
• Runway: 10/28, 3,000 m (9,843 ft), asphalt
• Nepal's second international airport, upgraded from a domestic strip and formally opened for international service on 16 May 2022
• Gateway to Lumbini (birthplace of the Buddha, UNESCO World Heritage Site, ~18 km away) and the Butwal–Siddharthanagar urban corridor
• International scheduled service has been limited since launch (Jazeera Airways operated briefly); the airport functions mainly as a strong domestic node today, with international/charter capacity in reserve
• For the site: position this page around "Lumbini flights" and pilgrimage/tourism traffic rather than long-haul international search volume

Pokhara International Airport (PKR) — Pokhara

• ICAO: VNPR | Elevation: ~2,600–2,700 ft (800–827 m) AMSL
• Runway: 12/30, 2,500 m (8,202 ft), concrete, ILS CAT-I equipped on 30
• Nepal's third international airport, opened 1 January 2023, replacing the old Pokhara Domestic Airport (PKR/VNPK) for most scheduled traffic
• Gateway to Pokhara — Nepal's tourism capital — and the jumping-off point for the Annapurna Circuit, Muktinath, and Jomsom treks
• As of 2026 the airport handles primarily domestic flights plus occasional international charters; no regular scheduled international airline service has taken hold yet
• For the site: dual-purpose page — "Pokhara domestic flights" (high search volume, tourist-heavy) and a secondary section flagging international/charter status for travelers checking connectivity

2. Domestic Hub Airports

CAAN classifies these as domestic hubs — the two next-largest gateways after the international trio, each anchoring a regional network.

Biratnagar Airport (BIR) — Biratnagar

• Eastern Nepal's principal gateway; connects the industrial/commercial hub of Biratnagar to Kathmandu and regional eastern airstrips
• Busy corridor for business travel and connections toward the eastern hill and mountain airports (Tumlingtar, Taplejung, Bhojpur)

Nepalgunj Airport (KEP) — Nepalgunj

• Western Nepal / Karnali gateway; key hub for onward STOL flights to the far-western mountain districts (Jumla, Dolpa, Simikot, Bajura, Rara)
• Also a common transit point for travelers heading toward the Karnali region and the Nepal–India border crossing at Nepalgunj

3. Major Domestic Airports

These are CAAN-listed active domestic airports with regular scheduled service, serving regional cities, tourism corridors, and industrial areas.

For the site: these pages should target route-based long-tail keywords ("Kathmandu to Bharatpur flight," "flights to Janakpur") rather than generic airport-info content — most searchers are booking a specific route, not researching the airport.

4. Mountain & Trekking Airports (STOL)

Short-runway, high-terrain airstrips serving Nepal's trekking and expedition regions. These are flown almost exclusively by small turboprops (Twin Otter, Dornier 228, Let L-410) and are weather-dependent, so content here should set realistic expectations about delays and cancellations.