BHAIRAHAWA: The Gautam Buddha International Airport in Bhairahawa, Nepal’s second international airport, stands fully equipped with modern facilities but continues to wait for regular international flights four years after its grand opening.
The airport’s international terminal, fitted with advanced infrastructure, immigration desks, security systems and a capable runway, often remains quiet due to the lack of scheduled international services. Occasional charter flights bring limited passengers before the airport returns to silence.
Airport officials and tourism stakeholders say the problem is not infrastructure but weak market management, policy gaps and a lack of coordination among government agencies, airlines and travel operators.
Acting General Manager of Gautam Buddha International Airport Shyam Kishor Shah said Thai AirAsia had operated scheduled flights on the Bangkok-Bhairahawa-Bangkok route twice a week, but the service ended after the winter schedule in March. Since the summer schedule began, there have been no regular international flights until October, although charter flights continue occasionally.
Shah said airlines cited insufficient passenger numbers as the main reason for suspending regular services.
“Aircraft arrive, but the expected occupancy is not achieved. While there are some passengers during departure, return flights are almost empty. Commercial airlines look at profitability, making it difficult to sustain regular operations in such conditions,” he said.
However, Shah argued that the issue was not a lack of potential passengers but poor passenger management. He said travellers from various provinces, including Madhesh, Koshi and Sudurpaschim, had previously used Bhairahawa but the necessary systems to connect passengers with airlines were not properly developed.
According to him, manpower agencies sending migrant workers abroad, travel agencies selling tickets and General Sales Agents (GSAs) all need to work together to make international flights successful.
He also pointed out that many foreign airlines interested in operating from Bhairahawa still rely on Kathmandu-based GSAs, whose business networks remain concentrated in the capital.
Although the government has provided major incentives, including full waivers on landing, navigation and passenger service charges and discounts on ground handling and aviation fuel, officials say subsidies alone cannot sustain flights without proper market planning.
Statistics show limited international activity at the airport. From 2022 to May 2026, the airport recorded 1,218 international aircraft movements and served 69,316 passengers. International passenger numbers dropped to 4,751 in 2023 before increasing to 19,590 in 2025, but remain far below the airport’s capacity.
Tourism entrepreneurs say the airport’s underutilization reflects broader policy failures. Chandra Bahadur Shrestha, president of Nepal Association of Tour and Travel Agents (NATTA) Lumbini Province, said the government has spent years promising to make the airport operational but has failed to take decisive action.
He argued that Kathmandu’s Tribhuvan International Airport is already under heavy pressure and the government should introduce a clear policy to distribute international flights between airports.
Private sector representatives have also called for stronger diplomatic efforts with India to allow direct flights from Indian cities and promote the Buddhist tourism circuit linked with Lumbini.
They have suggested establishing labour desks, medical centres and visa services in Bhairahawa to attract migrant workers from western Nepal who currently travel to Kathmandu for foreign employment procedures.
Built at a cost of around Rs 35 billion, Gautam Buddha International Airport was inaugurated in May 2022. Spread across around 800 bighas of land, the airport has a three-kilometre runway, modern navigation facilities and the capacity to handle aircraft operations similar to Tribhuvan International Airport.
Despite having the infrastructure and operational capacity, the airport continues to struggle to achieve its original vision of becoming a major international gateway for Lumbini and western Nepal.
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