The Turkish Airlines plane being removed from the TIA runway early on Saturday. Photo: Bikram RaiThe Tribhuvan International Airport (TIA) reopened on Saturday with removal of a Turkish Airlines plane from the runway.
Nepal's only international airport remained closed for four days after the Airbus A330 of Turkish Airlines crash-landed there on Wednesday morning. The aircraft had blocked the TIA runway with its wing and tail.
The aircraft was pushed onto the runway on Saturday. It was stranded on the grassland between the runway and the taxiway. Its wheels had bogged down in the grassland that was soggy because of rains.
A passenger waits for the TIA to reopen early on Saturday. Photo: Bikram RaiA technical team had lifted the aircraft off the grassland by using airlifting bags brought in Kathmandu by an Indian Air Force plane on Thursday. Once the aircraft was lifted off the ground, it was pushed onto the runway and then onto to the parking area.
Thousands of passengers were stranded in Kathmandu due to the TIA shutdown. Some went to India through land route to catch flights, most remained stranded waiting for the TIA to reopen.
Hours after the runway was cleared, a Nepal Airlines plane became the first to take off for Delhi at 9:30 p.m. More flights are scheduled later into the night.
Ratish Chandra Lal Suman, General Manager of the Civil Aviation Authority Nepal (CAA), has said that the TIA will remain open 24 hours for three days.