KATHMANDU, Nepal(NBC NEWS) — Earthquake-struck Nepal has been forced to close its international airport to large planes after its runway sustained damage from the influx of flights delivering aid, officials said Sunday.
The past week has seen a procession of big jets flying in goods and relief workers, as well as a swarm of journalists, but the small airport only has one runway and parking slots for just nine jets.
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A Nepalese official told NBC that planes weighing over 196 tons were being told not to land at the Tribhuwan International Airport, located on Kathmandu's outskirts.
"The notice [was] issued after technically assessing that the overuse of the runway by unscheduled flights is damaging it," Hari Odiani, from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, told NBC News.
"The runway is taking three times the regular schedule of flights compared to normal traffic."