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Find out how to fly to Mount Everest and what the closest airport is to the Everest Base Camp.
Find out how to fly to Mount Everest and what the closest airport is to the Everest Base Camp.
Find your flights to the nearest airport to Everest base camp with Alternative Airlines. Alternative Airlines offer flights from many different airlines that fly to Kathmandu and Lukla, which are the closest airports to Everest base camp.
You can't fly to Everest or Everest base camp. But you can fly to Kathmandu and Lukla, which are the closest airports to Everest base camp and where most people start their trek to Everest base camp.
There are two main base camps that are used to climb Mount Everest from. The North Base Camp in Tibet and the South Base Camp in Nepal. Unfortunately, the North Base Camp requires travellers to obtain two separate permits, which are difficult to obtain. Therefore, we recommend travelling to the South Base Camp in Nepal.
The best way to get to Everest is to fly into Lukla Airport and trek to Everest base camp. The only airport you can fly to Lukla from is Tribhuvan International Airport, Kathmandu. So you'll need to fly into Kathmandu first.
Once in Lukla, it takes roughly 13–15 days to trek to Everest base camp, depending on your itinerary. This includes no more than five hours of walking a day.
You can choose to trek it using your own planned itinerary. Or, you can join a trekking tour, which plans out your itinerary for you.
Alternatively, if you're not planning to climb Mount Everest itself and only want to experience it for sight-seeing, you can book a helicopter tour. Although it depends on which tour and operator you choose, these tours pick you up from Kathmandu and usually take around a day. Each tour gives breathtaking views of the mountain and allow you to stop at Everest base camp for a short amount of time.
Lukla Airport, or Tenzing–Hillary Airport, is the closest airport to Everest and Everest base camp. It takes around 13–15 days to trek from Lukla Airport to Everest base camp. Lukla Airport is located in the town of Lukla, Nepal.
The airport was built in 1964 and has a small runway that can only facilitate helicopters and aircraft suitable for short-takeoff and short landing. Besides a small number of passenger services, Lukla Airport is used for transporting cargo to and from the town of Lukla.
The only airport that you can fly direct to Lukla from is Kathmandu Airport. From any other airport, you'll need to or get a connecting flight at Kathmandu.
The following airlines currently operate flights to Lukla Airport:
Yeti Airlines, Nepal Airlines, Sita Air, Summit Air, Tara Air
Tribhuvan International Airport, or Kathmandu airport, is the main airport for international flights in Nepal and is located just outside the city of Kathmandu.
Tribhuvan International Airport is the only airport that flies to Lukla Airport and is used by most people travelling to Everest base camp as a connection point to Lukla.
Airlines fly from Kathmandu to Lukla on a daily basis and the journey only takes 30 minutes.
The following airlines currently operate flights to Tribhuvan International Airport, Kathmandu:
Air Arabia, Air China, Air India, Bhutan Air, Biman Bangladesh Airlines, Buddha Air, Cathay Dragon, China Eastern, China Southern, Druk Air, Etihad Airways, flydubai, Himalaya Airlines, IndiGo, Jet Airways, Korean Air, Malaysia Airlines, Malindo Air, Nepal Airlines, Oman Air, Qatar Airways, Regent Airways, SalamAir, Saurya Airlines, Shree Airlines, Sichuan Airlines, Silk Air, Thai Airways, Thai Lion Air, Tibet Airlines, Turkish Airlines
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No, commercial planes do not fly over Everest due to the dangerous weather surrounding the mountain. However, airlines such as Yeti Airlines and Buddha Air offer a view of Mount Everest on their flights. As well as other airlines flying into Kathmandu International Airport from the east.
The best time to travel to Everest and trek to Everest base camp is either between the months of February and May or between September and November. This is because the monsoon season runs from June–August and weather can get very cold in January and the early stages of February.