Kathmandu , Nepal ( CNN ) Nepal 's only international airport remains closed two days after a Turkish Airlines plane skidded off the tarmac and blocked the airport 's only runway . Officials said Tribhuvan International would reopen at 10 a.m. local time Saturday as preparations to move the plane continue . `` We do not know now if it will take longer than then to move the plane , '' Purna Chudal , manager of the Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal , told CNN . More then 160 flights have been canceled since Wednesday 's incident , leaving more than 24,000 passengers stranded as officials struggle to remove the immobile Airbus A330 off the runway , Chudal said . The timing of the incident is problematic for Nepal 's tourism industry , which is gearing up for the 2015 climbing season . Foreigners heading to Mount Everest and other nearby peaks in the Himalayan Mountains transit through the airport . The authority initially said it would reopen the airport at 10 a.m. Friday , later revising that to 5 p.m. , but workers were unable to remove the aircraft by that time . They were able to lift the plane 's nose -- originally pitched down -- and change its tires . The main challenge now is to push the grass-grounded plane back onto the runway . Officials say the area under the plane needs to be firmed up -- a process that involves digging into the ground and filling it with gravel -- before push back can commence . The Turkish Airways incident did n't result in any major injuries but the plane has remained aground as Nepal does n't have the necessary equipment to move it . Cargo planes were unable to fly in heavy-duty machinery because there was nowhere to land . A specialized aircraft carrying experts and aircraft removal equipment from India reportedly arrived on Thursday . Tribhuvan airport is usually closed between midnight and 6 a.m. but will remain open for 24 hours for the next few days until the backlog is cleared . More than 12,000 people fly in and out of the airport daily . The facility services about 80 international flights per day . Domestic service -- operated by by 18 and 40-seater jets -- was not disrupted . Journalist Manesh Shrestha reported from Kathmandu and CNN 's Maggie Hiufu Wong wrote this story from Hong Kong .
Services at Nepal 's only international airport disrupted for the third day by a stranded plane . Turkish Airlines plane skidded off the runway and has remained aground since Wednesday . Comment: