Connecting at Kathmandu airport

Connection time calculator, immigration and security, and how to move between terminals at KTM.

How connections work at KTM

At Kathmandu Tribhuvan airport, passengers connecting between two international flights can usually stay in the transit area without going through immigration. If you connect from an international to a domestic flight, you enter the country here: you go through immigration and collect and re-check your bags.

The airport has 2 terminals or concourses (International terminal, Domestic terminal). They are not connected after security: changing means going through security again.

Connecting passengers go through a transfer security screening.

Connection time calculator

Is your layover at KTM long enough? Pick your connection and get an estimate with the times of this airport.

Terminals / concourses: International terminal, Domestic terminal

Getting between them: Walking landside between terminals (about 10 minutes with bags); a shuttle bus exists but its schedule is not confirmed

The international and domestic terminals are separate buildings about 500 metres apart with no airside link. Arriving from abroad you go through visa on arrival (if needed), immigration, baggage and customs, then exit and walk to the domestic terminal.

Official transfer times:

  • International terminal → Domestic terminal: up to 10 min walking

Visa on arrival: US$30 for 15 days, US$50 for 30 days, US$125 for 90 days, preferably in clean US dollar cash. Filling in the online arrival form beforehand saves time.

  • Treat 3 hours as the minimum for an international-to-domestic connection, more if you need a visa on arrival.
  • Add about an hour for flights between 6 and 10 am, when queues form at every checkpoint.
  • Be back at the international terminal at least 3 hours before an international departure.

Estimate based on typical times at this airport, not your airline's official minimum connection time. Immigration and security lines change with the time of day and season. On a single ticket, the airline must rebook you if you miss the connection; on separate tickets, it does not.

Sources: layoverindex.com.

Times are estimates: always check with your airline.

More about KTM

Airport guide Departures Arrivals