Nepal's only international airport was shut down for more than 12 hours on Friday after a Malaysian jet carrying 139 people aborted its take-off and skidded into mud.
Nobody was hurt when the Malindo Air Boeing 737 went off the runway in Kathmandu late on Thursday but hundreds of passengers were stranded at the airport after flights were cancelled and incoming aircraft were diverted.
Airport spokesman Prem Nath Thakur said the jet was speeding down the Tribhuvan International Airport runway when the pilots detected a problem and aborted take-off.
The plane skidded into grass and came to a halt in mud about 30 metres from the runway.
"All aboard are safe," Mr Thakur said.
The cause of the problem was not immediately known.
The airport reopened just before midday on Friday after the jet was "removed without any damage", Mr Thakur said.
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An aircraft belonging to Malaysian airline Malindo Air is stuck in mud on April 20, 2018 after skidding off the runway at Tribhuvan International Airport in Kathmandu, Nepal. Navesh Chitrakar / Reuters -
Pilots of the Boeing 737 aborted take-off as the plane was accelerating down the runway at night on April 19, 2018, but no one was injured. Narendra Shrestha / EPA -
Air traffic at Tribhuvan International Airport in Kathmandu was disrupted for 12 hours because of the incident. Narendra Shrestha / EPA -
People gather to look at the stranded Malindo Air Boeing 737, which was carrying 139 people when it skidded off the runway at Tribhuvan International Airport in Kathmandu. Narendra Shrestha / EPA -
Nepalese security forces examine the Malindo Air plane. Narendra Shrestha / EPA -
The Boeing 737 was removed without any damage to the aircraft, according to officials at Kathmandu's Tribhuvan International Airport. Niranjan Shrestha / AP Photo -
Stranded travellers sit outside the international airport in Kathmandu on April 20, 2018, after a plane skidding off the runway disrupted flights for 12 hours until just before midday on April 20, 2018. Sunita Dongol / AFP
American traveller Sarah Ann Loreth, who was heading to Doha before returning to her home in Boston, said she spent hours on her plane after the emergency.
"We were supposed to take off on Thursday but couldn't because of the Malaysia flight," she said.
"Around 2am the flight attendant informed us the other flight had slipped off the runway and was stuck in the mud and could not be moved.
"They deplaned us around 2.30 am and it was pure chaos. We went back to the terminal and they had our bags laid out behind the counter and we just went behind and grabbed them."
Cars eventually took the passengers to hotels to wait for a rescheduled flight, she said.
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The incident came one month after a US-Bangla Airways plane crashed at the airport, killing 51 people.
In March 2015, a Turkish Airlines jet skidded off the runway as it landed, forcing Tribhuvan Airport to close for four days.
Nepal has some of the world's most remote and tricky runways, flanked by snow-capped peaks with approaches that pose a challenge even for accomplished pilots.
The Himalayan country also has a poor air safety record. Accidents are common and Nepal-based airlines are banned from flying in European Union airspace.
