Pokhara International Airport in 2026: Why Nepal's $216M China-Built Gateway Still Has Almost No International Flights
It was meant to fly trekkers straight to the Annapurnas. Three years on, India's airspace and a debt-heavy build have left it nearly empty.
It cost about USD 216 million, was built by a Chinese state contractor, and was sold as the airport that would finally let international trekkers skip chaotic Kathmandu and fly straight to the Annapurnas. More than three years after it opened on 1 January 2023, Pokhara International Airport still handles almost no scheduled international flights at all — and its story has become a case study in how tangled Himalayan infrastructure can get.
Key facts
- Cost roughly USD 216 million (down from a $305M bid), built by China CAMC Engineering
- Funded mainly by a ~USD 215.96M loan from the Export-Import Bank of China at about 2% interest
- Opened 1 January 2023; promoted as a flagship of China’s Belt and Road Initiative
- Only regular international link so far: a weekly Pokhara–Lhasa flight — launched 2025, since suspended for weak demand
- flydubai is due to begin daily Dubai flights on 23 September 2026
A flagship that never took off
On paper, Pokhara should be Nepal’s second international gateway: it is the staging town for the Annapurna Circuit, Annapurna Base Camp and Poon Hill, and the country’s adventure capital. Instead, the airport has spent three years as what local commentators bluntly call a “white elephant” — a 2,500-metre runway used almost entirely by domestic turboprops shuttling in from Kathmandu.
The single biggest obstacle is not in Nepal at all. India has declined to grant the new international air routes that flights into Pokhara would need to cross its airspace efficiently. Aircraft approaching from the west are funnelled through Nepal’s lone southern Simara corridor, adding time and cost; when Buddha Air sought to fly Pokhara–Varanasi, New Delhi declined. Regional analysts have framed the stand-off as part of a broader India–China tussle over a Beijing-funded project on India’s doorstep.
The international milestones — and the gaps
| Date | Milestone |
|---|---|
| Jan 2023 | Airport opens to domestic traffic |
| Jun 2023 | First international arrival (a Sichuan Airlines charter) |
| 2025 | Himalaya Airlines launches weekly Pokhara–Lhasa |
| Early 2026 | Lhasa service suspended — too few passengers |
| 23 Sep 2026 | flydubai due to start daily Dubai flights |
The financing adds pressure. The bulk of the bill is a loan from the Export-Import Bank of China, repayable over 20 years after a seven-year grace period — a clock that is now ticking on an airport earning a fraction of what it needs. Critics have drawn uneasy comparisons with other Belt and Road projects where revenue never matched the debt.
What this means for trekkers
For now, almost every international trekker still flies into Kathmandu and connects onward — a 25-minute hop or a tourist bus to Pokhara. The promised “land in Pokhara, trek the next morning” future depends on the flydubai launch sticking and India easing its route stance. Plan your Annapurna trip around a Kathmandu arrival, and treat any direct Pokhara international flight as a welcome bonus rather than a sure thing.
Planning around it
None of this changes the trekking, which remains superb: from Pokhara you can be on the trail to Annapurna Base Camp, the Annapurna Circuit or the gentle Ghorepani Poon Hill route within hours of landing. For the other half of Nepal’s airport story — the one that is adding international flights — see our report on the Gautam Buddha International Airport at Bhairahawa.
Sources: The Himalayan Times and OnlineKhabar, 2026.
Cover photo: Bijaya2043 via Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 3.0).
Source: The Himalayan Times
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