Quick answer
A Kathmandu–Lukla flight costs about Rs 8,000–12,500 one way for a Nepali citizen and USD 236–257 for a foreigner; Indians pay a fare of their own, quoted from INR 13,750. No airline publishes its fares. In autumn (Asoj to Mangsir 15) and spring (Chait to Jestha) flights leave from Manthali, Ramechhap, 4–5 hours' drive away.
The flight to Lukla is the start of the Everest trek and the part most likely to go wrong. Its price depends on your passport, its airport changes with the season, and its runway closes whenever cloud reaches it. Here is each of those, with sources, and what to do when the flight does not go.
On this page
Fares by passport
One way, from agency booking pages updated between March and October 2026. Tara Air, Summit Air and Sita Air fly the route; their booking forms ask whether you are Nepalese, Indian or Other, and none publishes a fare table.
Why the passport matters: a task force of the Civil Aviation Authority recommended dollar fares for foreigners on only four domestic routes, Bharatpur, Pokhara, Jomsom and Lukla, and foreigners pay two to three times the Nepali fare on them (Artha Sarokar, 22 April 2026).
Why older prices are wrong: aviation fuel nearly doubled on 1 April 2026, from Rs 127 to Rs 251 a litre. The fuel surcharge alone was Rs 3,130 on the Kathmandu–Lukla flight and Rs 1,740 from Ramechhap after 1 July 2026, and it rose again on 4 August (Baahrakhari; Kantipur). A Nepali fare of Rs 5,250 from January 2025 is out of date.
| Passenger | From Kathmandu | From Manthali (Ramechhap) |
|---|---|---|
| Nepali citizen | Rs 8,000–12,500, Rs 10,600 most quoted | Rs 8,000–10,600 |
| Indian | Rs 17,796–25,000; INR 13,750 on one page | as from Kathmandu, on the one page that gives both |
| Other foreigner | USD 236–257 | USD 199–210 |
When the flights leave from Manthali (Ramechhap)
- Autumn: from Asoj to Mangsir 15. In 2026 Manthali–Lukla flights started on Asoj 13, 29 September; Mangsir 15 falls on about 1 December (Kantipur, 4 October 2026).
- Spring: from Chait to Jestha, about mid-March to mid-June.
- The drive: about 130 km and 4–5 hours from Kathmandu. Flights leave Manthali from about 6 to 9 am, so shared transfers set off between 1 and 3 am; agencies charge USD 20–36 a seat.
- New this autumn: one Kathmandu–Ramechhap flight a week per airline, Summit on Thursday, Sita on Friday and Tara on Saturday, carrying passengers since 8 October 2026, when bookings allow.
- The rest of the year Lukla flights leave from Kathmandu's domestic terminal; agencies say to check in an hour before.
Lukla airport
From the Civil Aviation Authority's airport profile; the slope from the Kathmandu Post (2018) and the flight count from Kantipur.
| Tenzing–Hillary Airport, Lukla | |
|---|---|
| Height | 2,846 m |
| Runway | 527 m long and 20 m wide, sloping about 11.7% |
| Flying | Visual flight rules only: no instrument landings, so cloud closes it |
| Open | 6 am to 6.45 pm from 16 February to 15 November; 6.30 am to 6 pm otherwise |
| Aircraft | Twin Otter, Dornier 228, Let L-410 and Y-12; no refuelling |
| Busiest day reported | About 300 flights on 6 October 2025, from Kathmandu and Manthali |
Lukla weather, month by month
Lukla has no published weather record. The nearest is Namche Bazaar, 600 m higher and a day's walk up; Lukla runs about 4 °C warmer than the figures below. What stops flights is not the temperature but cloud and wind: the airport often closes from mid-morning when the south-west wind rises, and in the monsoon cloud closes it about half the time.
| Month | Namche: day / night | Flights leave from | What to expect |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 7 °C / −8 °C | Kathmandu | Clear and cold; short days |
| February | 6 °C / −6 °C | Kathmandu | Clear and cold; short days |
| March | 10 °C / −3 °C | Manthali (Ramechhap) | Clear mornings, haze building by May |
| April | 13 °C / 1 °C | Manthali (Ramechhap) | Clear mornings, haze building by May |
| May | 14 °C / 4 °C | Manthali (Ramechhap) | Clear mornings, haze building by May |
| June | 16 °C / 6 °C | Kathmandu | Monsoon: cloud cancels about half the flights |
| July | 16 °C / 8 °C | Kathmandu | Monsoon: cloud cancels about half the flights |
| August | 16 °C / 8 °C | Kathmandu | Monsoon: cloud cancels about half the flights |
| September | 15 °C / 6 °C | Kathmandu | Monsoon: cloud cancels about half the flights |
| October | 13 °C / 1 °C | Manthali (Ramechhap) | The busiest months; clear mornings |
| November | 9 °C / −4 °C | Manthali (Ramechhap) | The busiest months; clear mornings |
| December | 8 °C / −7 °C | Kathmandu | Clear and cold; short days |
Baggage
10 kg in the hold and 5 kg in the cabin, 15 kg in all, according to agency pages; the airlines publish no allowance on their own sites. Excess is about USD 1–2 a kilo, and when the plane is full extra bags can follow on a later flight. A porter's duffel and a day pack fit the limit; see the packing list.
When the flight does not go: the road and the helicopter
- By road: a shared jeep from Kathmandu to Salleri (Rs 3,000–3,500, 9–10 hours), another on to Surke (Rs 3,000–3,500, about 8 hours), and a few hours' walk up to Lukla. It adds about four days and turns to mud in the monsoon. When fog shut Lukla for about ten days in June 2024, people walked down to Thamdanda for jeeps.
- By helicopter: agencies quote USD 450–550 for a shared seat and USD 2,200–2,800 to charter one, from Kathmandu. When Manthali flights stopped for four days in October 2024, people chartered helicopters to Phaplu and Surke.
Safety record
Lukla's approach is short and steep, and there have been accidents: a Yeti Airlines Twin Otter in October 2008, which killed 18; a Summit Air cargo plane in May 2017, two crew; and a Summit Air L-410 that veered on take-off into parked helicopters in April 2019, three dead. No fixed-wing accident at Lukla since 2019 was found in the news. The airport's limits, cloud and wind, are why flights are cancelled rather than flown.
Common questions
What is the Kathmandu to Lukla flight price for Nepali citizens?
About Rs 8,000–12,500 one way in 2026, with Rs 10,600 the most quoted figure, from agency booking pages. The airlines do not publish fares, and the fuel surcharge alone was Rs 3,130 after 1 July 2026.
How much is the Lukla flight for Indians?
Indians pay a fare of their own, not the Nepali one and not the dollar fare. Agencies quote it as INR 13,750, Rs 17,796 or Rs 25,000, so ask the airline. The booking forms of Tara, Summit and Sita Air have an Indian option.
How long is the flight from Kathmandu to Lukla?
About 30 minutes from Kathmandu, and 15–20 minutes from Manthali (Ramechhap), which is 4–5 hours' drive from Kathmandu.
Why are Lukla flights cancelled so often?
The airport takes visual flights only, so any cloud at Lukla closes it, and the wind usually rises from mid-morning. In the monsoon cloud closes it about half the time. It can rain at Lukla while Kathmandu is clear.
What is the baggage limit on Lukla flights?
10 kg checked and 5 kg hand baggage, 15 kg in all, according to agency pages, with excess at about USD 1–2 a kilo.
Can you go from Kathmandu to Lukla by road?
Not all the way. Shared jeeps run to Salleri and on to Surke, about two days and Rs 6,000–7,000, and you walk the last few hours up to Lukla.
In this topic
Trekking in Nepal
Ten treks priced for Nepali, Indian and foreign trekkers, the permits each needs, and what to know before you go.
Trek cost calculator: permits, transport, rooms, food and guide — the whole subject in one place
Before you go
- Trekking without a guide: the rule by trek
- Best time to trek, month by month
- Easy treks for beginners
- Cheapest treks in Nepal
- Guide and porter cost
- Packing list and Thamel rental prices
- Altitude sickness: signs, rule and medicine
- Kathmandu to Lukla flight: price and dates
Short trips
The treks
- Everest Base Camp trek cost
- Annapurna Base Camp trek cost
- North ABC trek cost
- Annapurna Circuit trek cost
- Ghorepani Poon Hill trek cost
- Mardi Himal trek cost
- Langtang Valley trek cost
- Gosaikunda trek cost
- Manaslu Circuit trek cost
- Upper Mustang trek cost
Permits
