Nepal’s abandoned airports

Several of them have been built in breach of the Civil Aviation Policy 2006. While the Civil Aviation Authority lists 18 of 52 domestic airports as out of operation, 23 remain defunct.

In a televised interview a few weeks ago, Dharan’s mayor Harka Sampang made a rather outlandish comparison between airports and toilets. When asked to explain the need for an airport in Dharan when there is already one in Biratnagar, about an hour by road, he said it’s akin to asking why he should build a toilet in his house when his neighbour already has one. “Should I always use my neighbour’s toilet then?” he questioned.