Kathmandu Airport

Not Verified | The worst airport I’ve ever experienced. Appalling immigration. They don’t have good customer service. Their check point disgusting. Employees act like they are helping, but they start pulling your luggage and asking for money in front of all the airport staff. I have never seen this at other airports. They don’t have signs and they don’t have good customer service even at the customer care front desk. According to international airlines policy, customers have the right to carry two pieces of luggage under 28 kg. But they charged for both pieces of luggage. I feel like all the staff are just only looking for money.

Not Verified | Asia’s worst airport. By far. Appalling immigration procedures as detailed by others: long queues, bored and limited staff - all of whom unhelpful. Takes at least an hour to get through unless you have a visa in advance from a Nepali Embassy. Other Asian countries such as Myanmar and Cambodia allow you to pay and get a visa online. Nepal sends you through a series of desks and queues. Then there’s yet another queue for a pointless security check to enter the baggage retrieval. Not much better on the departure as the airport is so busy three major flights were all delayed by 90 minutes causing people to miss connections. 2020 is supposed to be Visit Nepal year. I suggest no-one does until they have improved the airport. Domestic is equally delayed and chaotic.

Not Verified | Quite literally the most ridiculous immigration process imaginable! No assistance from any ground staff when entering Kathmandu immigration, half the computers not working, not enough computers, queues with no signs, no organisation. Simple signs, step 1, step 2, step 3 would make life a lot easier! I spent 2.5 hours trying to get through this ridiculous immigration process, by which time my bags were sitting waiting in the arrivals hall for a long time in supervised!! Exiting via Kathmandu airport, no signs in check in desks, again no ground staff, or they were in disguise! Immigration, once again a joke! Signs saying fill in the embark form but no forms anywhere and then not even required. 2 immigration officers for dozens of international flights! Congratulations on being rubbish!

✅ Trip Verified | Well, I had my fair share of delays in this airport but it could only be blamed to the ever drastic and very abrupt change in the Kathmandu valley. The airport needs a bit of expansion since the seats are not enough during peak times. I wish as well that the baggage hall would be a bit bigger as it can get crowded. The staff,ughhh! Please don't get me started. No smile, no concept of customer service and no proper planning. When I arrived at the check-in counter, I got a fairly poker-faced staff who did what she had to do. Then while we were boarding the plane, they were doing additional checks at the aircraft stairs for restricted items which had been done already after immigration or they could have done it while we are boarding the bus. The WiFi is a no-brainer as you just connect and just click on "Get Online" at the sign-in landing page (thumbs-up) and it is quite fast. I am hoping only the best for the gateway of the Himalayas.

✅ Trip Verified | Kathmandu airport (KTM) is the worst airport I've ever experienced among more than 69 airports I've been to in over 36 countries. It is overcrowded, chaotic, and airport staff don't seem to care! Obtaining a visa upon arrival is confusing even if one has already applied for a visa online prior to arrival as there are no directional signage once you are in the arrival hall. After you get out of the airport, it's mob! Good luck finding the ground transport staff you've booked to meet you, especially if you're arriving at night. Departure is even worse! It's a mob getting through the entry doors. People just don't care about lining up (queue), airport staff don't help/some are rude, people are rude. You put you bags on a conveyor belt through the x-ray machines, the bags just tumble out off the other end while passengers are still going through the security detector gates! Check in counters are equally confusing due to lack of signage. The check in hall is overcrowded, it is hot in there. Seats? What seats, it's a foreign concept to this airport. After passport control, there's another security check where staff don't seem to speak English, and people again don't wait for their turns, and staff don't care to attempt to enforce some kind of order. Then you arrive at the boarding gates, overcrowded, chaotic, hot, did I say chaotic and no place to sit? Signage is totally inadequate so one must occasionally go check each gate to see if your boarding. We almost missed our flight! In summary, avoid this airport if you can. If you must use this airport, bring snacks as there is only one food store at the boarding gates. Avoid using the toilets it you can, if you must bring your own toilet papers, sanitary wipes, and mask because it stinks in there. For departures, arrive really early, 6 hours if possible! Bottomline, avoid Kathmandu if you can both the it's airport and the city as it is polluted and chaotic.

Not Verified | Terribly disorganised. We spent over 3 hours here on arrival - the process for obtaining visas is astonishingly confusing, illogical and unnecessarily complicated with absolutely no explanation regarding the process. The rest of the journey out of the airport was equally bad. Staffing is grossly inadequate and reading through reviews very little has changed over years despite how long standing these issues have been. The whole process sadly detracted from what was otherwise a wonderful time in Nepal. As the first thing you experience on arriving here, it's really a huge shame.

Not Verified | The worst airport I've ever been to! The check-in process was long. There's always long queues and people cutting lines. Dirty, not enough seats, gate information is only shown in the screen last minute. It doesn't matter if you are in business class or economy class because everyone just goes rushing, staff can't care less to manage. I really enjoyed my trip in Kathmandu, the food and culture, don't even mind the potholes. But if the Nepal gov aim to serve 2 mil visitors by 2020, fix the airport. All those wonderful trips are spoiled with the experience at the airport.

✅ Trip Verified | I went to the domestic terminal to board a Yeti Airlines (301) mountain flight on 4th August early morning around 530 am. I encountered a security officer who was rude and arrogant and misusing his powers. First thing he did was to shout at passengers saying that they cannot come in until he says so. When he started allowing passengers to come in, we gave him our ticket and he said where is the second ticket. I told him that the same paper has the second passenger also listed. I kept on insisting on a second sheet of paper which I did not have. Eventually, I had to threaten him with a complaint before he looked at the sheet again and let us in. Staff like this need to be disciplined.

Not Verified | As a foreign resident of Nepal for the past 30 years, I can only observe, sadly, that the Kathmandu airport is typical of the whole country's negligence and indifference toward development, void of the principle of giving before first receiving back. Everything is rooted in corruption and self-serving political interests. Witness in the newspapers the thousands of construction projects started and never finished around the country. And the airport can't even collect vendor rents, can't keep the toilets clean, can't manage congested baggage, and can't even change burned out electric light bulbs. Flight monitoring equipment donated years ago but unused, delapitated runways only now thinking of repairing, and so on. The airport is rated one of the worst and unsafest airports in the world. Add that to Kathmandu being one of the most polluted capitals in the world with potholed roads, uncontrollable dust, congestion, dangerous drivers unchecked by police except to check licenses at police stops, little road infrastructure except in some rich areas, few traffic signs, few medians to prevent overpassing, head on collisions and gridlock, and the list goes on. The government can talk about building railroads, tunnels, hydroelectric plants, and yes, even some new roads have been completed, but can't first ever seem to fill the tens of thousands of potholes in the valley which cause delay, inconvenience and accidents. The neglect is so bad just drive the road to Boudha leading to a World's Heritage Site. It should be a national embarrassment, as should the airport. But it seems no one cares, or they just typically blame any and all situations on others. For example, the airport recently built additional parking a long distance from the main terminal. Passengers were not allowed to use trolleys to carry their heavy baggage to that new area, rather, by hand until one of the local newspapers made a big stink about it. They just don't care. And so, we now have another "Visit Nepal" year starting in 2020 and the valley is in a horrible condition. My recommendation: First, buy a high quality pollution mask, and second, as they say, "get out of town." Visit more beautiful and clean places around the country, remembering however, you are visiting a third world country minus the efficiency, conveniences, and hygiene you may be used to in your home country.

✅ Trip Verified | Upon arrival at Kathmandu airport, I was bewildered by the process to obtain a visa, the process isn’t made particularly clear, but I got there in the end and I cleared customs in under an hour, someone I met a few days later explained they’d spent 2 hours trying to get through and getting a visa. Some work needs to be done to streamline the process and make it more user friendly. Departure: I was told to go through entrance B when I arrived at the airport but the security official outside the terminal, which I did and it subsequently turned out I needed to go through entrance A, although they were only a few metres apart so it begged the question why be so regimented. Anyway, cleared customs and security and spent some time in the executive lounge which is a must as there isn’t anywhere to sit waiting for your flight. A real lack of seats. Also the power went on and off throughout my time there. Overall it’s an airport that could do with some work, few more shops and some more food options plus more seating, toilets could do with a spruce up as well.