Syangboche Airport


Syangboche Airport is a domestic airport located in Namche Bazaar serving Solukhumbu District, a district in Province No. 1 in Nepal. The airstrip is the closest airstrip to Mount Everest and Everest Base Camp. However, it is not often used by those going to either as this is generally not viewed as consistent with safe, reasonably paced elevation acclimatization. Rather, typical users of this airstrip are tourists who plan on visiting a nearby hotel and going no higher or those who plan only on going to Namche Bazaar.

History

In the early 2000s, there was a controversy surrounding the expanison of the airport for tourists to skip the trek from Lukla to Namche Bazaar with Lukla entreprenuers fearing loss of business. However, the plans for expansions never materialized.

Facilities

The airport is at an elevation of above mean sea level. It has one runway which is in length.

Airlines and destinations

The airstrip is not licensed for commercial operations and has few facilities. There are no scheduled services and most aircraft landing and departing at Syangboche are helicopters and STOL aircraft making chartered flights from Kathmandu or Lukla. The flight from Lukla to Syangboche takes between 7 and 11 minutes by helicopter. Lukla is the farthest point served by scheduled flights on the way to Mount Everest.
Helicopters do fly further, and higher, up to Everest Base Camp, but only for picking up exhausted or injured mountaineers or dropping critical supplies. Without altitude acclimatization, Syangboche is the highest point it is advisable to reach by aircraft. It is not uncommon for people visiting Syangboche to be out of breath, due to the high altitude.