Nepal shuts airport after leopard seen near runway

Nepal had to close its only international airport for around half an hour yesterday after a leopard was spotted close to the runway. A spokesman for the airport in Kathmandu said wildlife and security officers were searching for the animal, believed to be hiding in the drains, after it was spotted by a pilot. “We closed the airport for about 30 minutes after the incident was reported but we haven’t found the leopard yet,” Prem Nath Thakur said. “Considering the excessive flight pressure and possible disturbance to the passengers, we have decided to resume the search operation only from midnight,” said the spokesperson.A team, comprising security forces, forest officials, zoo staff, was involved in the search operation. They have closed both ends of the drain to trace the animal.“The fire fighters even used water cannons inside the drain to exert pressure on the animal but it did not come out,” Thakur said.According to officials, the search mission will start immediately after the single-runway of the airport is closed at 12:00 midnight.One international flight was delayed but no other flight was scheduled during the closure. Kathmandu is close to forested hills and leopards are occasionally known to stray into the city.In the past, birds have posed serious safety problems at the single-runway airport, although stray cattle and dogs have also been known to disrupt flights. In 2016, a plane with nine passengers was forced to make an emergency landing when a bird struck its right wing. Nineteen people were killed in 2012 when an aircraft hit a bird and crashed shortly after taking off from the airport. According to TIA, 28 airlines operated 27,118 flights in the Nepali skies in 2016, approximately 75 landings and take-offs per day.