Nepal has temporarily halted landing of wide body aircraft at its lone international airport here after the ageing facility's runway developed cracks.
Authorities at Tribhuvan International Airport have instructed all airlines flying to Nepal to stop using wide body aircraft for some time as the airport's runway has developed cracks at different places, according to airport officials.
The measure has been taken to stop inflicting further damage to the runway of the 46-year-old airport, officials said.
A formal notice has already been forwarded to respective airlines companies, an official at the Airlines Operating Committee said.
The measure is likely to affect flights of Thai Airways and Korean Air, as they operate wide-body aircrafts.
The landing and takeoff of heavy aircraft has caused potholes in the runway.
Last week the airport had to suspend landing of aircraft for about an hour a few times due to the cracks.
The country's only international airport is overloaded with several hundreds of flights daily giving little rest to the runway, a senior staff at the airport said.
