Domestic flights in Nepal, and how not to miss your flight home
Flights to Lukla and Jomsom are cancelled routinely. That's the normal state of things, not a rare event or bad luck, and the whole trip should be built around it.
By the Lakeshore team · 6 min read · Updated 5 October 2026
I rebook more flights than I book. Nepal's domestic network flies into short mountain strips under visual flight rules, so weather stops it, and it stops it often enough that any itinerary treating a flight as fixed is fragile.
None of this is a problem if you plan for it, and all of it is a problem if you don't.
This is how the system behaves in practice.
Why they cancel
Mountain airstrips need visibility. Cloud in the valley, cloud at the destination or wind above the limits means no flight, and the call is made in the morning, sometimes several times over.
Wind builds through the day almost everywhere in Nepal, so early flights are far more reliable than late ones. The first departures of the day get out, and the afternoon ones are the first to be dropped. When a day is lost, the backlog rolls into the next day, and passengers already booked for that day go first. In peak season, one weather day can cost two or three days of movement.
Lukla, specifically
Lukla is where the Everest trail starts, and it's the most disrupted airstrip in the country. In the busiest months, flights often leave from Ramechhap, not Kathmandu, which means a four to five hour drive before dawn to catch a twenty-minute flight.
That catches out people who booked expecting to fly from the capital. Check with whoever booked your ticket which airport it uses, because this is the most common nasty surprise in Nepali trekking logistics.
Helicopters are the expensive fallback when the planes are backed up, and they're the reason a lot of trekkers make their international flights. They depend on the weather too.
Jomsom and the others
Jomsom flies from Pokhara up the Kali Gandaki gorge, between Dhaulagiri and Annapurna, in about twenty minutes. It's limited by wind and usually only runs in the morning, because the gorge wind is ferocious from late morning on.
Bharatpur for Chitwan and Bhairahawa for Lumbini are lowland strips and a lot more reliable.
Kathmandu to Pokhara is the most dependable route in the country, and winter fog still grounds it. The bus takes six to eight hours and always runs, and we book both.
The rules to build an itinerary on
If your trek involves a mountain flight, never book your international flight for the day after it ends. Two spare days is the standard advice, and it exists because a great many people have missed their flights home.
Keep the last two nights flexible, and spend them in a city, not on a trail.
Baggage on the small aircraft has a hard limit. On the Lukla run every airline works to the same figure: 15 kg in total, with 10 kg in the hold and 5 kg of hand luggage. Staff weigh it at check-in. Excess is charged by the kilo, and on a full flight in season it can simply be refused, which is how people end up leaving things behind at the airport.
Pack the duffel to ten and keep the daypack light, and there won't be a conversation at the counter. A suitcase doesn't fit that shape at all, which is another reason to leave yours in Pokhara or Kathmandu. Other mountain strips are broadly similar, though the numbers vary, so ask us for the allowance on your flight. Don't assume Lukla's applies everywhere.
Carry your important documents and medication in your daypack, not the hold. Bags sometimes travel on a later flight than their owners.
What we do when it goes wrong
We rebook you on the next available departure. That usually means being at the airport very early the next morning, so don't wait at the hotel for a phone call.
We weigh up the alternatives with you: a jeep instead of the Jomsom flight, a shared helicopter out of Lukla, or a different route. On our Jomsom trek the jeep is already the plan B. Sometimes a long drive beats three days of waiting. And we tell you early if we think you should give up on a flight and go overland, because that decision gets worse the longer it's left.
Walk it with us
Private departures on your dates, guided by the people who wrote this page.
Questions we get asked
How likely is a Lukla cancellation?
Common enough in every season that you should plan for it. Two spare days at the end of the trip is the right plan.
Which airlines fly domestically?
Several airlines fly the network, with smaller aircraft on the mountain strips. Schedules and operators change, so we book whatever is running for your dates instead of working from a fixed list.
Is it worth flying from Kathmandu to Pokhara?
It's twenty-five minutes against six to eight hours by road, so yes, if time is short. Most people fly one way and take the bus the other, with a stop at Bandipur.
What is the baggage limit?
Low on small aircraft, usually around 10 to 15 kg including hand luggage, and excess is charged. Leave your suitcase behind and travel with a duffel and a daypack.
Can I get a refund for a cancelled flight?
Weather cancellations are normally rebooked, not refunded, and the airline puts you on the next available flight. For anything we booked, we handle that conversation with the airline.
Still deciding?
Tell us your dates, and we'll tell you whether Tourist Bus & Flight Tickets is right for you. If it isn't, we'll say so.
Nothing to pay online. We confirm your dates first.
Or call the office +977 61-457830