Pokhara-Jomsom Air Service Suspended for Three Months

Mustang. The Pokhara-Jomsom regular air service here has been closed. Private airlines Tara Air and Summit Air, which operate flights here, have stated that the Pokhara-Jomsom regular air service has been closed for about three months.

Jomsom Civil Aviation Office Chief Deepak Pokharel informed that private airlines operating flights here have closed the Pokhara-Jomsom regular air service due to the monsoon in the rainy season, adverse weather, and the tourist off-season.

Although tourists coming to Mustang via the road from Beni are still frequenting the area, Chief Pokharel mentioned that the air service had to be closed due to a decrease in air passengers on the Pokhara-Jomsom route. Chief Pokharel stated that Tara Air closed its Pokhara-Jomsom air service on May 22 and Summit Air on June 2.

The Jomsom Civil Aviation Office stated that the Pokhara-Jomsom air service here is temporarily suspended every year during the winter and rainy seasons. Small aircraft that operate flights here have been flown towards Humla Simikot. Small aircraft operating flights here have been sent there as the Tibet Mansarovar journey has been opened for Indian tourists.

Although the regular air service here has been closed, Jomsom Civil Aviation Chief Pokharel said that emergency charter air and helicopter flight services will not be stopped. During the tourist season, Tara and Summit together operate an average of 10 flights daily, with more than 150 tourists coming to Mustang using the Harba route from Pokhara.

Summit Air Jomsom Station In-charge Suman Thkali informed that Summit Air has stopped flights from June 2. Station In-charge Thkali mentioned that there is a plan to resume the closed flights from August 15.

Similarly, Tara Air also informed that the Pokhara-Jomsom air service, which was closed from May 22, will resume in September, according to Jomsom Station In-charge Sujan Lalchan. He stated that the air service had to be closed due to the tourist off-season and the onset of the monsoon.

Previously, under the Pokhara-Jomsom air flight service, Tara Air had closed its regular air service from December 4 to March 1, and Summit Air from December 1 to February 1.