Turkish Airlines plane with hundreds of passengers on board catches fire in Nepal

In Kathmandu, Nepal, a Turkish Airlines aircraft caught fire during landing at Tribhuvan International Airport. Due to the incident, airport operations were temporarily suspended, UNN reports, citing the Associated Press.

Details

According to airport officials, the flight from Istanbul landed with fire and smoke emanating from the right landing gear area. Emergency services arrived promptly at the scene and localized the fire.

Passengers of the Airbus A330 were evacuated. According to preliminary information, there were no casualties. There were 277 passengers on board.

Due to the incident on Monday morning, Tribhuvan International Airport temporarily ceased operations. Several flights bound for Kathmandu were delayed while specialists conducted inspections and cleared the airport's single runway.

As noted by the AP, aviation incidents occur relatively frequently in Nepal due to the challenging mountainous terrain and unpredictable weather conditions.

Notably, in 2015, a Turkish Airlines aircraft skidded off a slippery runway while landing in dense fog in Kathmandu. At that time, the airport was closed for several days. There were no injuries, and the aircraft was later converted into a museum.

Recall

In August 2025, a passenger plane in the US caught fire right on the runway. At Kalispell airport, the aircraft collided with another plane during landing, which caused the fire to break out.