Palungtar Airport | |||||||||||
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| Summary | |||||||||||
| Airport type | Public | ||||||||||
| Serves | Palungtar and Gorkha, Nepal | ||||||||||
| Elevation AMSL | 1,467 ft / 447 m | ||||||||||
| Coordinates | 28°02′20″N84°27′57″E / 28.03889°N 84.46583°E | ||||||||||
| Map | |||||||||||
  GKH Location of airport in Nepal | |||||||||||
| Runways | |||||||||||
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Palungtar Airport( IATA : GKH, ICAO : VNGK) also known as Gorkha Airport, was an airport serving the municipalities Palungtar and Gorkha of Gorkha District in the Southern region of Gandaki Province of Nepal.
The airport was originally opened in October 1960. [2] It is currently out of operation, for which the District of Gorkha has no active airport as of 2018. It used to serve as a main tourist gateway to the former royal city of Gorkha and its palaces, but lost importance after the area received road connectivity, namely Prithivi Highway. [3] Despite being out of operation, the airport served as a major landing site for helicopters distributing relief material after the Gorkha earthquake in 2015. [3]
The airport resides at an elevation of 1,467 feet (447 m) above mean sea level. It had one grass/clay runway which is 1,067 metres (3,501 ft) in length. [2]
Until 1979, Nepal Airlines operated several routes from the airport. [4]
Gorkha District, a part of Gandaki Province, is one of the 77 districts of Nepal, which is the fourth largest district of Nepal and connected historically with the creation of the modern Nepal and the name of the legendary Gorkha soldiers. The district, with Gorkha Municipality as its district headquarters, covers an area of 3,610 km2 (1,390 sq mi) and has a population of 252,201 according to the 2021 Nepal census. Gorkha district is the site of the Manakamana Temple. The temples of Gorakh Nath and Gorakh Kali are found in the district. Several major rivers—the Chepe, Daraudi, Marsyangdi, Budi Gandaki, and Trishuli—run through the district.
Gorkha Airlines Pvt. Ltd. was an airline based in Kathmandu, Nepal. It operated scheduled and charter flights to domestic destinations, as well as daily mountain flights in the Himalayas. Its main base was Tribhuvan International Airport in Kathmandu. The company slogan was Fly With Us The Gallant Way.
Tenzing-Hillary Airport, also known as Lukla Airport, is a domestic airport and altiport in the town of Lukla, in Khumbu Pasanglhamu, Solukhumbu District, Koshi Province of Nepal. It gained worldwide fame as it was rated the most dangerous airport in the world for more than 20 years by a program titled Most Extreme Airports, broadcast on The History Channel in 2010.
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Gorkha is a municipality in Gorkha District in Gandaki Province of Nepal created in 1996. It was initially named "Prithibinarayan" after King Prithvi Narayan Shah, who was born in Gorkha and united and founded modern Nepal. In 2009, the name was changed to "Gorkha" municipality after the end of the monarchy in Nepal. At the time of the 2021 Nepal census it had a population of 53,285 people living in 12,641 individual households. In 2014, the neighboring Village development committees Nareshwar and Phinam were merged into the municipality.
Gaikhur is a village development committee in Gorkha District in the Gandaki Zone of northern-central Nepal. At the time of the 1991 Nepal census it had a population of 4,793 and had 948 houses in the town. Mirkot, Palungtar, Khoplang, Dhuwakot are the neighbouring VDCs of Gaikhur. Gaikhur lies on the western side of Gorkha Bazar.
Saurpani is Ward no.4 Sulikot Gaupalika in Gorkha District in the Gandaki Zone of northern-central Nepal. At the time of the 2011 Nepal census it had a population of 5,958 and had 1,325 houses in the town.
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Himalaya Airlines is a Nepalese airline operating from Tribhuvan International Airport in Kathmandu, Nepal. Himalaya Airlines was founded in 2014 as a joint venture between Yeti World Investment Group and Tibet Airlines. It launched operations in May 2016 with a single Airbus A320. The airline flies to eight destinations as of January 2022.
Gandaki ProvinceListen (help·info)), is one of the seven federal provinces established by the current constitution of Nepal which was promulgated on 20 September 2015. Pokhara is the province's capital city. It borders the Tibet Autonomous Region of China to the north, Bagmati Province to the east, Karnali Province to the west, and Lumbini Province and Bihar of India to the south. The total area of the province is 21,504 km2 - about 14.57% of the country's total area. According to the latest census, the population of the province was 2,479,745. The newly elected Provincial Assembly adopted Gandaki Province as the permanent name by replacing its initial name Province no. 4 in July 2018. Surendra Raj Pandey is the present chief minister of Gandaki Province.
Palungtar is a municipality in Gorkha District in Gandaki Province, central Nepal. It is made up of the seven former Village Development Committees Aanppipal, Chyangli, Dhuwakot, Gaikhur, Khoplang, Mirkot and Palumtar. It lies on the bank of Marshyangdi River. The Government of Nepal plans to make Palungtar the country's first Smart City. At the time of the 2011 Nepal census it had a population of 38,174 people living in 9,924 individual households.
Rajbiraj Airport is a domestic airport located in Rajbiraj serving Saptari District, a district in Madhesh Province in Nepal.
Altitude Air Pvt. Ltd is a helicopter airline based at Tribhuvan International Airport in Kathmandu, Nepal, operating chartered helicopter services. The company was established in 2016 and mainly carries out rescue and charter flights.
Simrik Air Pvt. Ltd. is a helicopter airline based at Tribhuvan International Airport in Kathmandu, Nepal. It operates chartered helicopter services. The company was established in 2001. It was a partner of Simrik Airlines, which operates scheduled fixed-wing services, until latter airline was rebranded as Guna Airlines in 2021. Simrik Air also partners with Swiss helicopter operator Air Zermatt, which helps with pilot training.
Prithvi Jayanti is an observance annually celebrated on 11 January to commemorate the birth of King Prithvi Narayan Shah, who was the first king of unified Nepal. In the mid-18th century, he set out to unify the small kingdoms which would become present-day Nepal. During the observance, many people add a garland to statues of Shah, participate in the parades, and remember his contribution to Nepal. Prithvi Jayanti was celebrated as a public holiday from 1951 until its abolishment in 2006. However, some local governments in Gorkha District and Nuwakot District have declared Prithvi Jayanti to be a public holiday. In 2023, the government declared it as a national holiday.
