The list of the busiest airports in Nepal is a ranking of the country's air transport hubs based on annual passenger traffic, aircraft movements, and cargo tonnage. As a landlocked country with a predominantly mountainous terrain, aviation plays a vital role in Nepal's national infrastructure, providing essential connectivity to remote regions inaccessible by road and serving as the primary gateway for international tourism and labor migration. The Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal (CAAN) oversees the operation of 55 airports nationwide, of which approximately 34 are currently operational as of 2025.
Historically, the aviation sector has been heavily centralized around Tribhuvan International Airport in Kathmandu, which remains the country's primary international gateway and busiest domestic hub. In 2024, TIA recorded a record-breaking 9.5 million passengers, operating significantly above its designed annual capacity of 8 million. This congestion has prompted the government to decentralize air traffic through the inauguration of two new international facilities: Gautam Buddha International Airport in Bhairahawa and Pokhara International Airport. While these new hubs have seen a steady rise in domestic traffic, surpassing 1 million annual passengers in Pokhara by 2024, they continue to work toward full international utilization to alleviate the pressure on the capital.
The domestic market is categorized into "trunk routes", connecting major cities in the Terai and mid-hills and "STOL" (Short Take-Off and Landing) routes that serve high-altitude Himalayan airstrips. Airports such as Biratnagar, Nepalgunj, and Bhadrapur consistently rank among the busiest for domestic movements due to their roles as regional economic centers. Conversely, Tenzing-Hillary Airport in Lukla remains one of the busiest and most famous STOL airports in the world, serving as the critical entry point for the Everest trekking region.
Statistics
2020-2024 data The following is a list of 12 largest airports in Nepal by total passenger traffic in 2024, from CAAN statistics. Rank(2024)AirportIATAcodeCityTotal Passengers2024 2023 2022 2021 20201Tribhuvan International AirportKTMKathmandu9,482,788 8,654,456 7,136,690 5,033,871 2,511,6352Pokhara International AirportPHHPokhara1,016,900 902,999 848,140 529,944 256,3573Biratnagar AirportBIRBiratnagar659,889 671,144 764,208 643,869 296,0594Gautam Buddha International AirportBWASiddharthanagar619,639 551,639 585,730 558,739 181,7035Nepalgunj AirportKEPNepalgunj499,762 473,534 566,700 501,315 223,6596Bhadrapur AirportBDPBhadrapur372,555 342,229 390,074 326,518 131,9057Janakpur AirportJKRJanakpur295,923 268,071 346,350 293,326 100,4708Dhangadhi AirportDHIDhangadhi285,121 350,123 318,123 260,046 145,3129Simara AirportSIFJitpursimara273,538 263,816 309,745 311,471 73,02010Bharatpur AirportBHRBharatpur234,566 227,807 246,964 202,969 80,38711Tenzing-Hillary AirportLUALukla204,114 262,118 195,479 228,967 21,30912Surkhet AirportSKHBirendranagar159,037 87,442 39,397 29,093 18,408
2015-19 data The largest airports in Nepal as of 2019 are shown in table below. Rank(2019) Airport IATAcode Total Passengers201920182017201620151Tribhuvan International Airport KTM7,327,0427,190,2386,339,2355,268,3384,581,2102Pokhara Airport PKR720,714609,975446,024328,031274,5503Biratnagar Airport BIR596,453537,780455,284377,077340,2024Nepalgunj Airport KEP453,433426,661369,355233,533176,3725Gautam Buddha Airport BWA388,378377,692300,393168,421107,9146Bhadrapur Airport BDP281,000228,128192,584162,153164,8917Bharatpur Airport BHR170,734229,495257,709150,34554,2388Dhangadhi Airport DHI150,295177,698128,03562,37545,4699Simikot AirportIMK138,10454,26159,77057,20721,92210Janakpur AirportJKR136,67879,29664,70353,28344,65511Simara Airport SIF134,573231,291107,15478,75645,52512Tenzing-Hillary Airport LUA129,508124,929146,879119,80181,174 References