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Nepal Denies US Drone Test Permit at Mount Everest Base Camp
Nepal's Ministry of Home Affairs refused a drone flight permit to a US team testing the Alta X Gen 2 drone at Everest Base Camp on May 1. The team, led by President Donald Trump’s special envoy for South and Central Asia Sergio Gor, had planned to demonstrate the drone's ability to carry supplies to Camp I. Nepal also temporarily suspended permits for Chinese DJI drones operating in the area.
May 14, 4:23 AM·2m read1 source
Al JazeeraAudio version
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The camp sits at an altitude of 5,364 metres. The team intended to test the Alta X Gen 2 drone's capacity to transport supplemental oxygen bottles, ladders, mountain gear and food from the base camp to Camp I at 6,130 metres on the mountain’s southern ridge.
The test did not occur after Nepal’s Ministry of Home Affairs declined to issue a drone flight permit. An internal ministry memo cited “drone flying procedures” and “security sensitivity” as the reasons for the refusal. The US officials returned to Kathmandu without conducting the flight.
Chinese-made DJI drones have operated in the area since 2024. In that year, DJI tested its FlyCart 30 drone to ferry logistics for climbers and subsequently provided two units to AirLift Technology, a Nepalese company. This year DJI supplied its FlyCart 100 model to the same operator before the drone’s formal market launch.
Milan Pandey, director of AirLift Technology, said the FlyCart 100 can carry up to 45 kg to Camp I in less than three minutes. The drone can complete a round trip carrying loads and returning garbage in about eight minutes. Sherpas previously required six to seven hours to reach Camp I and a full day for the round journey.
On normal days the DJI FlyCart 100 carries more than 900 kg of load to Camp I. It can transport at least 10 oxygen cylinders in a few minutes, a task that takes three Sherpas an entire day. The drone also removes poop bags and other rubbish from the slopes.
The ministry’s decision to deny the US permit led to a one-week suspension of operating permits for the Chinese DJI FlyCart 100 drones as well. “Drones have made it easier, but the controversy hampered our work this year,” Pandey told Al Jazeera. The suspension affected ladder transport to the Everest icefall during the critical rope-fixing period.
