Flying to the worlds most dangerous airport...
An early start today, catching a plane to the mountain town of Lukla, renowned as the most dangerous airport in the world - so a degree of apprehension exists. Checking out at 5.15am, all is quiet in Thamel, then suddenly a motor starts and a taxi pulls along side almost instantaneously and for once I'm pleased to see it! A bumpy 15 minutes to the airport, in pitch black with thoughts of carjackers somewhere at the back of my mind.
Kathmandu airport domestic terminal is distinctly old school and freezing cold! A lick of paint wouldn't go amiss here. It's a small plane so baggage has to be on the light side - down to the bare minimum in the hope that all my other stuff will still be at the guesthouse when I get back in a few days. Airborne in the small Dornier plane at 0730 as it sets course for Lukla and the Himalayan mountains, just shadows in the distance shrouded in mist.
Spectacular scenery as the flight passes close to those hill top communities. A little bumpy as those mountains loom ever close, and so do the clouds. Yes, the dreaded clouds have formed, which for an airport like Lukla means only one thing - trouble. No one seems unduly worried at this point in time as the pilot prepares for landing, descending into a valley and pulling back on the throttle.
The clouds have dispersed and relief and the runway appears in the cockpit windscreen - Jesus, that's a short strip!
An early start today, catching a plane to the mountain town of Lukla, renowned as the most dangerous airport in the world - so a degree of apprehension exists. Checking out at 5.15am, all is quiet in Thamel, then suddenly a motor starts and a taxi pulls along side almost instantaneously and for once I'm pleased to see it! A bumpy 15 minutes to the airport, in pitch black with thoughts of carjackers somewhere at the back of my mind.
Kathmandu airport domestic terminal is distinctly old school and freezing cold! A lick of paint wouldn't go amiss here. It's a small plane so baggage has to be on the light side - down to the bare minimum in the hope that all my other stuff will still be at the guesthouse when I get back in a few days. Airborne in the small Dornier plane at 0730 as it sets course for Lukla and the Himalayan mountains, just shadows in the distance shrouded in mist.
Spectacular scenery as the flight passes close to those hill top communities. A little bumpy as those mountains loom ever close, and so do the clouds. Yes, the dreaded clouds have formed, which for an airport like Lukla means only one thing - trouble. No one seems unduly worried at this point in time as the pilot prepares for landing, descending into a valley and pulling back on the throttle.
The clouds have dispersed and relief and the runway appears in the cockpit windscreen - Jesus, that's a short strip!
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