More than 63,000 passengers travelled via Tribhuvan International Airport (TIA) over the two main days of the Dashain festival. On October 10 (Fulpati) and October 11 (Maha Ashtami/Maha Navami), both domestic and international flights were busy as people travelled to and from Kathmandu for the celebrations.

According to TIA spokesperson Rinji Sherpa, on October 9, a total of 301 domestic flights carried 17,329 passengers, while on October 10, 278 flights handled 14,436 passengers, making a combined total of 31,765 domestic travellers.

On the international front, 107 flights on October 10 carried 16,509 passengers, and another 107 flights on October 11 transported 14,968 passengers. This brought the total number of international passengers for the two days to 31,477. The passenger count includes both arrivals and departures.

Previously, on September 30, a record 559 flights, including both domestic and international, operated in a single day, with 35,704 passengers travelling. The surge in flight numbers and passengers had been partly attributed to road disruptions caused by heavy rains and landslides in the last days of September, which blocked several key highways across the country.

With the increased pressure on both domestic and international flights, TIA saw crowded terminals, though flight operations have since returned to normal levels, the airport authority reported. The surge in air travel peaked between September 29 to October 2.