Kathmandu, 14 October: More than three international airlines are going to operate flights at Gautam Buddha International Airport located in Bhairahawa, the country’s second international airport. International airlines are now going to operate commercial flights at Gautam Buddha Airport, which has not been able to operate commercial international flights for a long time after the construction was completed.
According to Pratap Babu Tiwari, General Manager of Gautam Buddha International Airport, Kuwait’s Jazeera, Dubai’s national flag carrier Fly Dubai and Thailand-headquartered Thai Air Asia are going to fly to Gautam Buddha Airport. All these three airlines have received permission to fly from the regulator Nepal Civil Aviation Authority. The airport has made a flight schedule accordingly. Fly Dubai will start regular flights to Gautam Buddha International Airport from 9th November. This is the company’s first flight at the airport. Fly Dubai is going to fly Dubai-Bhairawa and Bhairawa-Kathmandu-Dubai on seven days of the week.
According to General Manager Tiwari, Fly Dubai’s flight arrived at Bhairahawa at 1:45 PM and went to Dubai at 3:30 PM via Kathmandu’s Tribhuvan International Airport and got permission from the Flight Schedule Authority. Meanwhile, General Manager Tiwari said that the technical team of Fly Dubai visited Gautam Buddha Airport and got information about the service facilities, so they will proceed with the preparations. Similarly, Jazeera Air is operating flights again from 28th October. The airlines, which had previously suspended flights for 10 months, are going to resume flights at the same airport. Jazeera will fly three days a week on Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday.
The Jazeera flight will arrive at Bhairahawa at 7:30 am and fly to Kuwait at 8:30 am, according to the airport. Two years ago, Jazeera started flying to Bhairahawa with the inauguration of Gautam Buddha International Airport on 16 May 2022. He had canceled the Bhairahawa flight citing technical reasons. Gyanendra Bhool, Co-Spokesperson of Nepal Civil Aviation Authority informed that Fly Dubai is going to fly to Dubai from October via Dubai-Bhairawa and Bhairawa-Kathmandu. Although the airport has been opened for a long time, the private sector here is disappointed because there are no international flights from here. Jazeera Air, which had started the flight, had also stopped its flight for some time.
Two years ago, Jazeera started flying to Bhairahawa with the inauguration of Gautam Buddha International Airport on 16 May 2022. But it stopped in the middle due to various problems. Now Kuwait’s Jazeera Airways has informed that regular flights will resume. Similarly, Thai AirAsia is also planning to fly to Gautam Buddha Airport soon. The technical team of the said airline visited Gautam Buddha Airport a few days ago. General Manager Tiwari informed that the technical team was informed in detail about the airport’s goals, bases for flight operations such as market analysis, and other benefits related to other operations. However, it has not been decided when this airline will start flying.
Thai AirAsia, which started direct flights to Nepal on Ashoj 16(Oct 2), is also going to operate flights to Gautam Buddha Airport. The airline is operating flight services to important destinations in Asia through about 60 aircraft. Nepal and Thailand are connected in various ways including tourism. More than 40,000 tourists from Thailand visit Nepal annually. A significant number of tourists from Nepal also reach Thailand. The Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Thai AirAsia, Shantisuk Klodchaiya, expressed his belief that flights will play an important role in strengthening not only the air communication network between Nepal and Thailand, but also the cultural and people-to-people relations between the two countries.
According to the government’s action plan to operate two international airports at full capacity, General Manager Tiwari said that international flights are going to be operated at Gautam Buddha Airport. “According to the action plan of the government, after taking charge of the airport, a special initiative is being taken to create an environment for international flight operations”, he said. According to the airport, the administrative work required for the operation of the international airport, such as immigration, customs, security, etc., is in good condition.
Bishnu Prasad Dhungana, Chief Immigration Officer on behalf of the Immigration Office, Gautam Buddha International Airport informed that necessary preparations are being made accordingly as Jazeera Airlines and Fly Dubai will fly soon. He said, “We are in a state of preparation, instructions have been given to the central office for technical manpower management. After the start of the airline flights, the passengers should be provided in an easy manner, the immigration office has made all preparations for that.” The authority is coordinating and discussing with the inter-agency. All preparations have been made for immigration, customs office, security agencies. A passenger desk has been constructed at immigration. Some technical aspects are yet to be managed. There are 21 passenger service counters at the airport. The equipment is connected, some automation work is left.
“During the renovation of the Kathmandu airport, the number of flights may increase in the future at the Gautam Buddha airport, as there is a possibility that airlines will also be added, so management preparations should be made accordingly. It is reported that other airlines have also shown interest in flying”, he said. With the aim of making the immigration services at the airport agile and efficient, a team including the director general of the immigration department also conducted an on-site inspection of Gautam Buddha Airport.
The government has advanced the process with the action plan for the national pride project Gautam Buddha International Airport and Pokhara International Airport to operate at full capacity. According to the same plan, international airlines are going to fly in a hurry. Airport officials said that other airlines have also shown interest for flights. For the operation of those two airports, which have not been able to have regular international flights for a long time after the completion of the construction, the government has announced an attractive package including concessions to the airlines in various services.
The Council of Ministers meeting on August 12 approved the action plan for the overall improvement of the civil aviation sector and approved the action plan for the operation of Gautam Buddha and Pokhara International Airports. The government plans to give concessions on air fuel and tickets to operate the international airport at full capacity. For the effective operation of the two airports, meetings have been held at various stages with the ministers and officials of the relevant ministries under the leadership of the Prime Minister. Based on the suggestions given by the working group formed to study the options and measures to operate both airports at full capacity, it is said that the discussion is being held on giving concessions.
According to the Ministry of Culture, Tourism and Civil Aviation, an action plan has been made to provide concessions on air tickets, ground handling, and air fuel until 17 September 2026 in order to bring both airports into effective operation. It is said that the tourism board will not take the per-ticket fee for the two airports during this period and will not take the VAT charged on air tickets until September 2026. In coordination with the Ministry of Industry and Commerce, an action plan has been made to buy fuel at Bhairahawa cheaper than the price available at Kathmandu airport. 74 years after Tribhuvan International Airport came into operation, another new international airport came into operation in the country. On July 4, 1958, Bhairahawa came into operation as a domestic airport. The same airport has been expanded to become an international airport.
