Turkish Airlines flight tyre fire shuts Kathmandu airport briefly, all safe

A fire in the right main landing gear tyre of Turkish Airlines flight TK726 turned a routine arrival at Kathmandu into a runway emergency, forcing Tribhuvan International Airport to close for 98 minutes before reopening with all passengers and crew safe.

The aircraft landed with 277 passengers and 11 crew members aboard, including some United Nations officials. The blaze was doused after crews responded quickly, and the plane was towed to the taxiway and grounded while airport teams cleared and checked the runway area. No injuries were reported, and the safe evacuation prevented a far more serious outcome at Nepal’s main international gateway.

The airport was closed at 6:34 a.m. and resumed operations 98 minutes later. Gyanendra Bhul, spokesperson for the Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal, said the fire had been brought under control, while airport officials launched a technical inspection to determine the cause and assess any damage to the aircraft. The speed of the response mattered: a landing-gear fire can escalate fast, especially when heat, friction and braking stress converge on touchdown.

Video circulating on social media showed smoke billowing from the right landing gear, a stark reminder of how quickly a normal landing can become an aviation safety event. Tribhuvan International Airport sits about 5.56 km east of Kathmandu city in the Kathmandu Valley, a setting aviation sources describe as operationally difficult because of surrounding mountains and high elevation. The airport has a single runway, 02/20, leaving little margin when an aircraft has a braking or landing-gear problem.

The episode also revived memories of another Turkish Airlines incident at the same airport. On March 4, 2015, flight TK726, then operating from Istanbul on an Airbus A330-303, skidded off the runway in dense fog with 224 passengers and 11 crew members aboard. One passenger was slightly injured, the aircraft was later declared a hull loss, and Kathmandu airport was shut for several days, stranding tens of thousands of travelers.

This latest fire appears to be a separate mechanical event, but it again exposed how much pressure rests on Kathmandu’s limited runway system and emergency crews. The outcome was safe this time, yet the combination of terrain, elevation and a single runway keeps Tribhuvan International Airport one of the region’s most demanding operating environments.