KATHMANDU: The government has decided to run Tribhuvan International Airport, the only international airport of the country, 21 hours a day from Monday. TIA working hours have been set as 6:00 am to 3:00 am.

This aims to manage and facilitate passengers, make international flights more effective and minimise problems like obstructions due to minor plane malfunctions and obligations to hold aero-planes in the air for long due to various reasons, said a government official quoted by RSS.

Earlier the airport operated for 18 hours a day (from 6:00 am to 12:00 am).

This new measure was given top priority in the 100 days action plan forwarded by Minister for Culture, Tourism and Civil Aviation Rabindra Adhikari, and Adhikari earlier himself has held consultations with concerned sectors and experts time and again in this regard.

The airport sees approximately 400 takeoffs and landings a day both domestic and international. The airport has a capacity of managing 1,300 passengers a day, but is forced to deal with around 2,500 passengers at present during peak hours.