T
he green and white 20-year-old
de Havilland Canada DHC-6 Twin
O er bucked and bounced as it
clawed its way upwards through the thin
mountain air. Fifteen passengers were
on the a 30-minute ride from an already
lofty 4,390ft (1,338m) to a respiration-
challenging 9,337ft (2,846m). To the
left were mountains, to the right were
mountains, and in front there were
mountains. The peaks were not below
us, they towered above our tiny aircraft.
Only then did I truly begin to appreciate
why yesterday’s fl ight had been cancelled.
The trip had started in the pre-dawn
light of the previous day. The bustling
domestic terminal at TribhuvanInternational Airport in Kathmandu,
Nepal was full to almost bursting, a
chaotic scene in which customers
jostled for position as they sought out the
correct check-in desk for their fl ights.
Having found the right place, we stood
in line and fi nally received our boarding
cards, marked with the destination LUA.
Then the waiting began. As daylight
eventually came around, it was evident
the leaden skies didn’t bode well for the
success of our plans – we knew that
services were often cancelled if the
destinations were covered by cloud.
The bad news came sooner
than we expected; all
fl ightsIN THE FOOTSTEPS OF THE
ABOMINABLE SNOWMAN
Explorers scaling the
world’s highest peak face
a stark choice from the
get- go: a ten-hour bus ride,
followed by an eight-day
hike, or sharing a small
aluminium tube on wings
with 19 other passengers
for a 30-minute trip into the
world’s most dangerous
airport. John Richardson
took the soft option.AIRPORT STATISTICS
IATA Code: LUA
ICAO Code: VNLK
Location: N27°41.27‘ E86°43.88‘
Elevation: 9,337ft (2,846ft)
Runway: 06/24 1,729 x 98ft
(527 x 30m)
Frequencies: AFIS 122.3
Website: n /aBELOW: Tenzing-
Hillary Airport
nestles among
the peaks of
the Himalayas.
(All pictures
AirTeamImages.
com / Timo
Breidenstein
except where
stated)86 // Extreme AirportsLUKLA
86-89_Lukla.indd 86 11/05/2018 11:14