KATHMANDU, Nepal (AP) — Despite dire need by millions, earthquake-hit Nepal on Sunday was forced to close its only international airport to big airplanes flying in relief supplies and aid workers because the only runway can't handle the strain of the stream of large aircraft flying in to help.
Medium and small-size jets will still be allowed to land, officials said.
It is only the latest complication in global efforts to aid people suffering in the wake of the April 25 quake, the impoverished country's biggest and most destructive in eight decades.
People in Nepal — both in remote villages and the capital, Kathmandu — have complained about not seeing any rescue workers or international aid and about a lack of temporary shelters, with many sleeping out in the open because of fears of aftershocks bringing down their damaged homes.
Birendra Shrestha, the manager of Tribhuwan International Airport, located on the outskirts of Kathmandu, said bigger planes were banned because the runway was deteriorating. The runway was built to handle only medium-size jetliners and not the large military and cargo planes that have been flying to the airport since the magnitude-7.8 earthquake struck, he said.
The last week has seen a steady procession of big jets trying to fly in goods and relief workers, as well as a swarm of journalists, but the small airport has parking slots for only nine jets and only one runway.
There have been reports of cracks on the runway and other problems at the only international airport in Nepal and the only one capable of handling jetliners.
One week after the quake, aid has been slow in reaching those who need it most. In many places, it has not come at all.
U.N. humanitarian officials said Saturday that they were increasingly worried about the spread of disease. They said more helicopters were needed to reach isolated mountain villages that were hard to access even before the quake.
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