Pilots Call It the Most Dangerous Airport in the World, Here’s Why
Tenzing-Hillary Airport, better known as Lukla, looks more like a mountain driveway than a landing zone. It’s carved into the side of a hill in Nepal’s Himalayas, about 9,337 feet above sea level, and it’s where most Everest trekkers start their journey. This airport has become legendary for being the kind of place where even the most seasoned pilots grip the controls a little tighter.
The runway measures only 1,729 feet long. That’s about a third of what most airports consider the bare minimum. One end stops at a vertical rock wall, and the other drops into a steep valley. Planes only land from one direction and take off in the opposite direction. There is no room for mistakes or any option to loop around. And there’s more. The air up here is thin. That makes takeoffs slower and landings harder.
Why It’s Built Where It Shouldn’t Be
Image via Unsplash/Maëva Vigier
Sir Edmund Hillary, one of the first to summit Everest, pushed to build this airport in the early 1960s. He needed a quicker way to get supplies and climbers into the Khumbu region. The original plan was to use flat farmland nearby, but no one wanted to sell. So Hillary bought sloped land from locals and got creative. He supposedly had Sherpas stomp down the ground during dances to help compact the soil. It worked, more or less. The airstrip officially opened in 1971 and was paved in 2001.
Lukla gets pretty busy too. During trekking season, it handles up to 100 flights a day. But all those planes are small, like Twin Otters, Dorniers, and others with short takeoff and landing ability. Big jets don’t stand a chance here.
Weather and Waiting
Lukla is unpredictable. Morning can be clear. By mid-morning, wind from the southwest can slam into the mountains and make flight paths useless. Clouds drop fast, and fog settles in. Because there’s no instrument landing system, pilots need visual confirmation to land. If the runway disappears behind clouds, that’s it. Flights are grounded.
This isn’t rare. About half of the flights during the monsoon season get canceled. That means tourists sit for hours, sometimes days, waiting for weather to cooperate. Most commercial flights now leave from Ramechhap, about four hours by road from Kathmandu, to give planes a better shot at hitting the narrow morning window.
Strict Rules, Experienced Hands
The Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal doesn’t take shortcuts. Pilots flying into Lukla must have at least 100 short takeoff and landing missions under their belt. They also need a year’s worth of experience flying in Nepal, plus ten supervised landings at Lukla. Even with these strict standards, things still go wrong.
There have been multiple crashes at Lukla over the years. The most deadly occurred in 2008 when a plane struck the runway edge in low visibility and killed 18 people. Another in 2019 involved a plane colliding with a helicopter during takeoff, killing three.
The View Doesn’t Make It Easier
Lukla is boxed in by sharp peaks. Planes have to snake between them before lining up with the runway. On final approach, the pilot is surrounded by terrain on all sides. If the line isn’t right or wind shifts suddenly, they can’t pull up and circle back. There’s nowhere to go.
Despite this, planes land here daily. The runway’s gradient—11.7% uphill—actually helps slow aircraft, but only if they land right at the start. Landing too late means not stopping in time.
What It’s Like for Passengers
Most travelers flying into Lukla have some version of the same experience: an early wake-up, a chaotic airport, and a bumpy ride. The flight from Ramechhap takes under 20 minutes. It’s fast, loud, and shaky, and turbulence comes standard. Onboard, locals usually scroll their phones or nap. Tourists grip armrests and glance out the windows at mountains that look a little too close.
The landing feels like controlled chaos. The runway comes into view at the last second. There’s a jolt, a bounce, a screech of brakes. Then the plane rolls to a stop just before the hill. Once on the ground, everyone breathes again.
Why People Keep Flying Here
There’s no real alternative. The nearest backup, Phaplu Airport, still requires a multi-day hike to Lukla. Helicopters are an option, but they’re expensive and also subject to the same weather. Lukla isn’t perfect, but it works. It’s the fastest route to Everest Base Camp, and with nearly 40,000 tourists flying in annually, it’s not going anywhere soon.
Lukla by the Numbers
- Runway length: 1,729 feet
- Elevation: 9,337 feet
- Gradient: 11.7% uphill
- Fatal commercial crashes since 2000: 3
- Peak daily flights: Around 100
- Planes allowed: Small STOL aircraft only
- Main weather disruptions: Wind shear, fog, cloud cover
- Flight window: Early morning only
- Passenger volume per year: Around 40,000
What Makes It So Fascinating
Image via Unsplash/Javier Del pino
Lukla is a place that balances on the edge of what’s possible in aviation. Every element—location, altitude, design—makes flying there a challenge. Pilots are trained like specialists, and operations stop the moment safety isn’t guaranteed.