Tenzing-Hillary Airport
Tenzing-Hillary Airport
Tenzing-Hillary Airport (Nepali: ??????? ?????? ?????????, IATA: LUA, ICAO: VNLK), also known as Lukla Airport, is a domestic airport and altiport in the town of Lukla, in Khumbu Pasanglhamu, Solukhumbu District, Koshi Province of Nepal. The airport has gained worldwide fame, not only for its unusual location, but also because it was rated the most dangerous airport in the world for more than 20 years by a program titled Most Extreme Airports, broadcast on the History Channel in 2010. The airport is popular because many people consider it the world's most dangerous airport. It has a starting point for treks towards Mount Everest Base Camp. There are daily flights between Ramechhap or Kathmandu and Lukla during daylight hours in good weather. Although the flying distances are short, rain often occurs in Lukla while the sun is shining in Ramechhap or Kathmandu. High winds, cloud cover, and changing visibility often mean flights can be delayed or the airport closed. The airport is contained within a chain-link fence and is patrolled by the Armed Police Force Nepal, Nepal Civil Police or Nepali Army around the clock for security.
Location
27.687°N, 86.729°E · 2.859 m s. n. m. (9.380 ft)
General data
Runways · 1
Lengths and surfaces from the public OurAirports register; open runways only.
Radio frequencies · 2
Tower
Approach
Reference frequencies for enthusiasts, from OurAirports (community database, public domain), checked on Oct 16, 2026. They may be outdated or incomplete and do not replace the AIP or current charts: not for navigation. In Europe the published frequency may be an 8.33 kHz channel (e.g., 118.505 for 118.500). In MHz.
History
The airport was built in 1964 under the supervision of Edmund Hillary, who originally intended to build it on flat farmland. However, local farmers did not want to give up their land, so the airport was built in its current position. Hillary bought the land from local Sherpas for USD 2,650 and involved them in building the facilities. It has been said that Hillary was unhappy with the runway's soil resistance, and that his solution was to buy local liquor for the Sherpas and ask them to perform a foot-stomping dance to flatten the land that served as the runway. The runway was paved in 2001.
In January 2008, the airport was renamed in honour of Tenzing Norgay and Sir Edmund Hillary, the first people confirmed to have reached the summit of Mount Everest, and also to mark their efforts in the construction of this airport.
Airlines operating here · 4
Other airlines with direct routes
Airlines with current passenger routes from here, according to Wikipedia route tables cross-checked from both ends (October 2026).
Photo: Reinhard Kraasch · CC BY-SA 4.0 · view original
Data from OurAirports (public domain) · destinations and airlines from Wikipedia route tables (CC BY-SA, 2026), unless another source is given · profile and photo from Wikidata/Wikimedia Commons (CC0 / CC) · summary and history from Wikipedia (CC BY-SA).
Cite
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This page was last updated on October 15, 2026
APA
Vuelopedia. (2026, October 15). Tenzing-Hillary Airport (LUA). Retrieved October 26, 2026, from https://vuelopedia.org/en/airport/LUA
MLA
“Tenzing-Hillary Airport (LUA).” Vuelopedia, Fundación Poderia, 15 Oct. 2026, vuelopedia.org/en/airport/LUA. Accessed 26 Oct. 2026.
Chicago
Vuelopedia. “Tenzing-Hillary Airport (LUA).” Fundación Poderia. Last modified October 15, 2026. https://vuelopedia.org/en/airport/LUA.
Harvard
Vuelopedia (2026) Tenzing-Hillary Airport (LUA). Available at: https://vuelopedia.org/en/airport/LUA (Accessed: 26 October 2026).
BibTeX
@misc{vuelopedia_en_airport_lua,
author = {{Vuelopedia}},
title = {{Tenzing-Hillary Airport (LUA)}},
publisher = {Fundación Poderia},
year = {2026},
date = {2026-10-15},
url = {https://vuelopedia.org/en/airport/LUA},
howpublished = {\url{https://vuelopedia.org/en/airport/LUA}},
urldate = {2026-10-26},
note = {Accessed 2026-10-26}
}Wikipedia
{{cite web |url=https://vuelopedia.org/en/airport/LUA |title=Tenzing-Hillary Airport (LUA) |website=Vuelopedia |publisher=Fundación Poderia |date=2026-10-15 |access-date=2026-10-26 |language=en}}