Syangboche Airport

Syangboche Airport (Nepali: स्याङ्बोचे हवाइ-मैदान) (IATA: SYH, ICAO: VNSB) is a domestic airport located in Namche Bazaar^[1] serving Solukhumbu District, a district in Koshi Province in Nepal. Syangboche Airport’s first and foremost challenge is its elevation at 3,780 m (12,402 ft); it is exposed to some of the most extreme and capricious weather conditions in the world, with heavy winds, fog and snowfall.

Syangboche Airport स्याङबोचे हवाइ-मैदान
IATA: SYH ICAO: VNSB
Summary
Airport type	Public
Owner	Government of Nepal
Operator	Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal
Serves	Namche Bazaar, Solukhumbu, Nepal
Elevation AMSL	12,402 ft / 3,780 m
Coordinates	27°48′40.4″N 086°42′44.2″E
Map
Syangboche Airport Location of airport in Nepal
Runways
Direction Length Surface m ft 13/31 405 1,329 unpaved
Sources: [1][2]

Syangboche airstrip

History

The airport was constructed in 1971 by a team led by Takashi Miyahara and was opened with a test flight by Royal Nepal Airlines on June 1, 1973.^[3] It was built to serve Hotel Everest View [jp], at the time the highest-placed hotel in the world.^[4]

In the early 2000s, an expansion proposal that would let tourists skip the trek from Lukla to Namche Bazaar met opposition from Lukla entrepreneurs who feared a loss of business. However, the plans for expansion never materialized.^[5]

Facilities

The airport is at an elevation of 3,748 m (12,297 ft) and has one runway with a length of 405 m (1,329 ft).^[1]

Airlines and destinations

Currently, there are no scheduled services to and from Syangboche Airport. Previously Nepal Airlines and Tara Air operated routes to Kathmandu.^[6] The nearest open airport is Tenzing–Hillary Airport, located 13 km south of Namche Bazaar.