Kathmandu, Nepal, November 22, 2022: As part of plan to bring into operation the newly built Pokhara Regional International Airport (PRIA) from January 1, 2023, calibration flights are started from Monday. The Aero Thai aircraft has started calibration flights from November 21 to November 27.
The Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal has already approved the schedule of mechanical test flights of the Pokhara Regional International Airport to start commercial flights. The Aero Thai Company, which had also conducted mechanical testing at Gautam Budh International Airport in Bhairahawa, has already reached at Pokhara for the calibration flights.
Calibration flights used to be conducted to test any newly built airport. After completion of the test flights, the company has to submit a report to the authorities concerned. The regulatory bodies concerned used to give permission for the commercial flights on the basis of the report.
As the lake city of Pokhara is not only considered as the touristic hub city of Nepal but the gateway to the Annapurna region in the Himalaya, one of Nepal's most popular trekking destinations, commercial operation of the international airport would help to boost the tourism business.
The Pokhara International Airport is 45 meters wide and 2,500 meters long and has an east-west orientation. A 1,200-metre-long and 23-metre-wide taxiway connects the runway with the parking bays, hangars and terminals.
