Syangboche Airport (Nepali: à ¤¸à ¥Âà ¤¯à ¤¾à ¤Âà ¥Âà ¤¬à ¥Âà ¤Âà ¥ à ¤¹à ¤µà ¤¾à ¤Â-à ¤®à ¥Âà ¤¦à ¤¾à ¤¨) is a domestic airport located in Namche Bazaar serving Solukhumbu District, a district in Koshi Province in Nepal. Syangboche AirportâÂÂs first and foremost challenge is its elevation at ; it is exposed to some of the most extreme and capricious weather conditions in the world, with heavy winds, fog and snowfall.
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. It was built to serve , at the time the highest-placed hotel in the world.
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.
The airport is at an elevation of and has one runway with a length of .
Currently, there are no scheduled services to and from Syangboche Airport. Previously Nepal Airlines and Tara Air operated routes to Kathmandu. The nearest open airport is TenzingâÂÂHillary Airport, located 13 km south of Namche Bazaar.