KATHMANDU: All flight operations at Tribhuvan International Airport were suspended for about two hours on Saturday evening after runway lights went out.

According to airport spokesperson Rinji Sherpa, the runway lights went off around 5:30 PM. “Lights on both sides of the runway went out. Only a few are partially working, but most remain off,” Sherpa said, adding that the exact cause of the malfunction has yet to be identified.

He further informed that the airport’s electrical engineering team has been deployed to fix the issue.

“The runway lighting system must be fully functional for operations to resume. Since the runway is long, all lights must be operational before reopening,” he explained.

Due to the lighting failure, several flights were diverted. A Buddha Air flight from Janakpur was forced to return, while another Buddha Air aircraft from Surkhet was redirected to Pokhara.

Meanwhile, a Korean Air flight bound for Kathmandu returned to Indira Gandhi International Airport in New Delhi.