Flights to Jumla: Nepalgunj and Surkhet schedules and airport facts

Nepal Airlines’ Jumla flights leave from Nepalgunj and Surkhet. Below are the airline’s published flights with their dates, the airport’s basic facts and the incidents on record; the town and district are on the Jumla page, and the wider picture is in the getting-there hub.

Nepal Airlines timetable, October 2026

Nepal Airlines’ domestic summer schedule was effective from 1 to 31 October 2026 and was based on two DHC-6 aircraft¹. The page notes that it is subject to change without prior notice¹. For Jumla it listed these flights:

In February 2024 Kantipur reported a Jumla to Surkhet flight by the national flag carrier after ten years⁷. Nepal Airlines had stopped scheduled Kathmandu to Jumla flights in 1991⁹.

Other operators

Tara Air lists Jumla and Rara among the destinations it serves with scheduled and charter flights². The Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal’s page for the domestic summer schedule 2026 names seven airlines: Buddha Air, Nepal Airlines Corporation, Shree Airlines, Sita Air, Summit Air, Tara Air and Yeti Airlines⁴. The lowland end of the route is covered on the Nepalgunj page.

On fares, the Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal posted a press release on domestic air fares dated 8 October 2026⁵.

Jumla Airport

Jumla Airport (IATA JUM, ICAO VNJL) is a domestic airport serving Jumla District³. It sits at 7,700 feet (2,347 m) above mean sea level³. It has one asphalt runway, designated 09/27, measuring 670 by 25 metres³. The Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal’s list of domestic airports in operation includes Jumla Airport¹⁰.

Jumla District

The airport serves Jumla District, whose headquarters is Jumla Bazaar in Chandannath municipality¹¹. The district covers 2,531 square kilometres and ranges in elevation from 915 m to 4,679 m¹¹. Its population in the 2021 census was 118,349¹¹. The rest of the district is on the Jumla page.

For comparison, travellers heading to Rara Lake can fly instead to Talcha; see flights to Talcha. Nepal Airlines’ October 2026 schedule listed that route from Nepalgunj on Sunday and Thursday¹.

Incidents on record

• On 21 June 2006 a Yeti Airlines Twin Otter flying from Surkhet crashed into a mountainside on the eastern side of the airport, killing all three crew and six passengers³.
• In April 2016 a Nepal Airlines Twin Otter aborted take-off at Jumla after a nose-gear steering wire snapped; it was about to fly to Nepalgunj⁶. The pilot noticed the problem after the plane had moved 540 metres for take-off, and a team of engineers and equipment was to be brought in to maintain the aircraft⁶.
• On 9 June 2018 a Tara Air Twin Otter from Nepalgunj bounced several times on landing and left the left side of the runway³. The nose landing gear collapsed, and no injuries were reported³.

Road instead of air

The Karnali Highway links Jumla with Birendranagar and parts of Surkhet district¹². On 17 August 2025 landslides blocked several sections in Kalikot, Dailekh and Jumla, cutting off road access in parts of the three districts⁸. Of its 232 km length, 17 km were blacktopped in 2010¹². In 2010 heavy monsoon rains closed the highway because of landslides¹². As of July 2011, more than 85 percent of the highway was unsafe¹². In June 2026 Kantipur reported that the Road Division Office in Jumla had cancelled 16 contract agreements for the highway after the road work was not completed on time¹³. Dated road reports are collected on the Karnali Highway page.