Runway, radar repair work hits flights

SCORES of flights were delayed and diverted on Friday due to two separate events—maintenance of the sole runway and the radar system—at the Tribhuvan International Airport (TIA). According to airlines officials, the country’s sole international airport was closed at 2:30 pm for 30 minutes and another 20 minutes at 4:30 pm for the maintenance work. “A number of flights were delayed, while a few of them were forced to divert en-route,” an airlines official said. Air Arabia and Qatar Airways was told to hold on the sky for around half an hour. TIA General Manager Dinesh Prasad Shrestha said the airport was closed for maintenance of the runway. He said monsoon rains had damaged some sections of the runway. “However, it did not affect the airlines much,” he said, adding that the Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal had issued a ‘Notice to Airmen” (NOTAM) to inform pilots of the temporary maintenance work.