All incoming and outbound flights at Nepal’s Tribhuvan International Airport (TIA) in Kathmandu were suspended on Saturday night after the airport’s runway lighting system suffered a major technical failure, forcing authorities to ground all aircraft for safety reasons. The sudden outage brought operations to a complete standstill at the country’s only international airport, disrupting dozens of flights and leaving hundreds of passengers stranded inside the terminal.
According to officials from the Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal (CAAN), the runway lights — essential for take-offs and landings, especially during night operations — stopped functioning due to a suspected electrical or circuit malfunction. Engineers and maintenance staff were immediately dispatched to the runway area to identify the cause of the disruption and carry out repairs. “Our technical team is working on a war footing to restore the system. Until the lights are fixed and the safety of aircraft can be ensured, all flight movements remain suspended,” a senior CAAN official said.
Initial reports suggested that the failure may have been caused by a short circuit in the underground power line that connects the runway illumination system to the main power supply unit. Airport authorities said backup lighting systems were also impacted, making it impossible to continue operations safely. As a result, multiple flights that were en route to Kathmandu were diverted to alternative airports, including Delhi, Lucknow, and Kolkata, while outgoing international flights to destinations such as Dubai, Kuala Lumpur, and Bangkok were put on indefinite hold.
Passengers inside the departure terminal expressed frustration over the lack of information. Some were seen sleeping on the floor or using their luggage as makeshift pillows as airline staff waited for official clearance to resume operations. A few domestic flights that were scheduled to depart for Pokhara, Biratnagar, and Nepalgunj were also cancelled or delayed indefinitely. “The announcement came suddenly, and there was complete chaos. No one knew what was happening,” said one passenger travelling to Kuala Lumpur.
Authorities assured passengers that the problem would be resolved “as soon as technically possible.” An emergency coordination meeting was held between airport management, the Nepal Airlines Corporation, and private carriers, where contingency measures — including partial daylight operations and emergency lighting alternatives — were discussed.
This disruption comes at a particularly critical time for Nepal’s aviation sector, which heavily relies on Kathmandu’s Tribhuvan Airport as the central hub for both domestic and international travel. The airport handles over 400 flight movements daily, and any prolonged shutdown can cause significant logistical and economic impacts. Several airlines, including Qatar Airways, FlyDubai, Indigo, and Air India, have already announced revised schedules and cancellations for flights to and from Kathmandu.
Interestingly, the Nepal airport disruption occurred barely 24 hours after India’s Indira Gandhi International (IGI) Airport in Delhi suffered one of its worst technical meltdowns in recent years. A major fault in the Automatic Message Switching System (AMSS) at Delhi’s Air Traffic Control (ATC) paralysed communication between flight operators and control towers, delaying over 800 flights and cancelling at least 20 services across India on Friday. The cascading effect of that failure was already straining regional flight networks when Kathmandu’s runway lighting system malfunctioned, compounding the disruption for South Asian air traffic.
Officials from both the CAAN and the Nepal Airlines Corporation acknowledged that Kathmandu’s airspace had been unusually congested due to rerouted flights from India, which may have indirectly increased electrical load on the runway systems. However, this has yet to be confirmed.
By early Saturday morning, CAAN released an advisory confirming that technical repair work was ongoing and urging passengers to remain in contact with their respective airlines for the latest flight updates. “Our engineers are working continuously to restore full runway lighting functionality. Passenger safety remains our top priority, and no flights will be cleared for landing or take-off until we confirm full operational readiness,” the statement said.
Meanwhile, the Airports Authority of India (AAI) confirmed that all systems at Delhi’s airport had been fully restored and that flight schedules were stabilising gradually. But delays persisted across North Indian airports, including Lucknow, Varanasi, and Patna, which are key transit points for passengers flying to Kathmandu.
Aviation experts noted that the Tribhuvan incident underscores the urgent need for modernisation of Nepal’s airport infrastructure, which remains outdated compared to international standards. They pointed out that a backup runway lighting system, a secondary power grid, and improved maintenance protocols could have prevented such a large-scale disruption. “Nepal’s airports operate under significant limitations. A single electrical fault can cripple the entire system, and that’s precisely what we’re seeing here,” said an aviation consultant based in Kathmandu.
As of late Saturday night, repair teams were still working to restore full runway lighting capacity. Flight operations were expected to resume gradually once safety clearances were obtained. However, officials warned that residual delays could continue for several hours or even into Sunday morning, depending on the extent of the electrical fault and the calibration time required for testing the lighting system.
In a brief statement, Tribhuvan International Airport spokesperson TIA Rajendra Kumar Chhetri said, “We sincerely apologise for the inconvenience caused to passengers. Our teams are doing everything possible to restore normal operations at the earliest. We request passengers to remain patient and follow airline advisories.”
The event marks yet another blow to Nepal’s civil aviation reputation, already under international scrutiny for safety concerns. The International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) has repeatedly urged Nepal to enhance its airport safety systems and technical infrastructure. With the holiday travel season approaching, aviation authorities are under pressure to ensure that operations return to full capacity swiftly — without compromising on safety or procedural integrity.
