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Nepal shuts airport to big jets because of runway damage

Jane Onyanga-Omara
USA TODAY
A Nepalese boy stands outside his village with a signboard asking for help in Pauwathok village, Sindhupalchok district, Nepal, on May 2.

Nepal shut its only international airport in Kathmandu to large planes carrying aid on Sunday because of damage to the main runway since last week's devastating earthquake, officials said.

Medium and small aircraft will still be allowed to land.

The airport's main runway, which was temporarily closed, was built to handle only medium-size jetliners — not the large military and cargo planes that have been flying in aid supplies, food, medicines, and rescue and humanitarian workers, said Birendra Shrestha, the manager of Tribhuwan International Airport, located on the outskirts of Kathmandu.

There have been reports of cracks on the runway and other problems.

"You've got one runway, and you've got limited handling facilities, and you've got the ongoing commercial flights," said Jamie McGoldrick, the U.N. coordinator for Nepal, according to the Associated Press. "You put on top of that massive relief items coming in, the search and rescue teams that have clogged up this airport. And I think once they put better systems in place, I think that will get better."

The death toll from the April 25 earthquake reached 7,276, including six foreigners and 45 Nepalese found over the weekend on a popular trekking route, said government administrator Gautam Rimal. Nepal's Tourist Police reported that a total of 57 foreigners have been killed in the quake, and 109 are still missing, including 12 Russians and nine Americans.

The news comes as United Nations humanitarian chief Valerie Amos told Agence France-Presse of her concerns that customs controls are slowing down the delivery of humanitarian aid to the country.

Some people in remote areas say that relief has yet to reach them, amid reports that aid is piling up at the Kathmandu airport.

Amos told the AFP that she raised the issue with Prime Minister Sushil Koirala on Saturday, reminding him that Nepal had signed an agreement with the U.N. in 2007 allowing simpler and faster customs clearance for aid.

"He has undertaken to ensure that happens, so I hope that from now we will see an improvement in those administrative issues," Amos told the news agency.

Nepal lifted import taxes on tarpaulins and tents Friday, but home ministry spokesman Laxmi Prasad Dhakal said all goods coming in from outside the country had to be inspected, the BBC reported.

"This is something we need to do," he said, according to the broadcaster.

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