Residents of Rupandehi, who have to watch the big ships in the sky, have been protesting for continuous international flights from Gautam Budh International Airport for a month now. When will the flight/landing of aircraft start sustainably from an airport with the same structure and capacity as Tribhuvan International Airport in Kathmandu? Even though the residents of the district are searching for answers to this question, they are getting very few answers so far.

Every week, one or two national level leaders/employees are coming through the internal terminal of the airport. State and federal ministers, chief ministers and prime ministers will also participate in the program organized here. In such programs, the sustainable operation of the international airport is becoming a major topic. After coming here, the leaders say that international flights will be started from the airport in any case . They don't seem to take the initiative after their return . The private sector is agitated as there is no coordination between words and actions. Last year, the businessmen of Siddharthnagar sat on dharna for 15 days demanding the operation of the airport. Private sector organizations participated in the sit-in. 

After the pressing programs organized here were not listened to, the businessmen reached Kathmandu and drew the attention of the Minister and the Prime Minister. Organizations including Hotel Association, Industry and Commerce Association have submitted more than a dozen memorandums demanding regular flights. Even now, the process of drawing attention and submitting memorandum is continuing.  Although it has been in operation for 24 hours for three years, international flights have not been confirmed from the airport. As the flights that have been launched are only seasonal, there is growing frustration and anger among the residents. 

Last October-October, there was a lot of excitement when 5 different international airlines started flying from here . The air of the airport was different when it was flying for 4-5 months by Jazeera, Fly Dubai, Thai Air Asia, Qatar Airways and Nepal Airlines. 

Hariprasad Aryal, president of the Butwal Chamber of Commerce and Industry, says that during the expansion of the Tribhuvan International Airport (TIA), the Bhairahawa Airport was used as a 'diversion', so the traffic was maintained for a limited period . "Just like diversions were prepared during road construction, some ships came here without getting slots when TIA was expanded," he said. There are a total of 141 posts under the Civil Aviation Authority. Among them, 87 employees are working according to the rank under the leadership of the general manager. Apart from that, there are 24 service providers and 60 daily wage employees. Around 70 soldiers are working under the Taradal Gana for airport security, while 185 Nepal Police are under the leadership of SSP. Now 167 policemen are deployed. The annual income of the airport from internal and external sources is 250 million. According to the airport management, the operating expenses are around 35 crores annually. Customs, immigration, national research, transportation and warehouse management companies, commercial banks and other offices necessary for international flights are operating. There was already a depot of Oil Corporation for fuel at the airport. After the international airport came into operation, the depot has been upgraded. Parking has been arranged in the airport premises. The Health Desk is in operation .

Operation 'effort'

With the local pressure for regular flights, the flight efforts made by the Civil Aviation Authority are going to waste . Although there is no problem for takeoff/landing, there is a shortage of passengers and ships here . Airport staff say that TIA is becoming the choice of passengers as the necessary facilities for foreign travel are concentrated in the federal capital. 
According to Pratap Babu Tiwari, General Manager of Gautam Budh International Airport, the authority has also announced a discount package to the airline company for taking off/landing to see if the fare can be attracted if the fare is set low. According to him, after the airline company demanded 'incentives', it was believed that providing such discount facilities would reduce the fares and attract passengers.

Last July, the federal cabinet decided to waive the landing, parking and navigation charges for Bhairahawa flights. Also, a discount has been arranged on fuel. General Manager Tiwari said that the passenger service charge is also going to be discounted from this April. "Along with the exemption, the Cabinet had decided to decentralize the manpower company, health check, visa center," he said, "According to the decision, the relevant offices have not been opened here yet." According to the action plan, the Ministry of Labor and Employment said that the necessary labor, medical, visa and other offices for the operation of the airport will be operated in Bhairahawa and Pokhara. Among the 100-day achievements placed on the website of the Ministry of Labor and Employment, it was mentioned that labor approval from Bhairawa and Pokhara and the establishment of foreign employment and licensee branches in all provinces. Culture, Tourism and Civil Aviation Minister Badri Prasad Pandey, who came to Bhairahawa at that time, assured to initiate the operation of the office by immediately calling representatives of relevant ministries and holding a review meeting.

He said that since the issues of labor, medical, visa, cargo, quarantine have been raised, a review meeting will be held with the participation of the relevant ministries. However, since there are no such offices here, all the necessary procedures for foreign flights should be completed in Kathmandu. Despite that, the number of passengers coming and going from here is significant. 

According to General Manager Tiwari, 4 thousand 279 passengers traveled from here in November 2024. Similarly, in December, 3 thousand 878 people visited. The number of passengers has also decreased after fewer flights due to heavy rain and fog last January. It seems that only 1 thousand 365 passengers flowed in January. After that, the number of passengers increased dramatically. He said that last February 6 thousand 779 passengers and 7 thousand 34 passengers in March. "The number of passengers was increasing, even though we had to fly here from Kathmandu, the number of passengers was increasing recently," he said.

According to him, the 'summer schedule' started from April. For international flights, the airline company must approve the flight schedule in advance. This time no company applied for flights from Bhairahawa. As a result, the flight became zero, he said. "The compulsion to come here after completing all the procedures for the flight created a problem," he said. Mentioning that even if the plane is held in the sky for a long time, it will land in Kathmandu, he said, "Instead of holding there, we should create an environment to send it here, this will reduce the problem of traffic hold of TIA, Bhairahwa will also come into operation". "The priority of any airline company is business," he said. In such a situation, which airline company flies at a loss.' He also said that it can be converted into a 'hub' of an airline company and operated. He said that foreign airline companies can be concentrated here and invited for flights when domestic aircraft are not available.

Investment sinking

About 40 billion has been spent on the construction of the airport . The construction work of fences, drains, roads, parking etc. Looking at the pace of infrastructure construction, the investment is increasing day by day. Netra Prasad Acharya, President of Siddhartha Industry and Commerce Association, said that businessmen have invested around 80 billion by targeting the international airport.

With the belief that tourist arrivals will increase after the airport is operational, investments have been made in Bhairahawa, Tilottama, Lumbini and Butwal from small to big hotels to restaurants. Many industrialists and businessmen have invested in housing and land thinking that the residence will increase. Most of them have complained that they have taken a loan from the bank and are unable to pay the installments. Acharya, president of Siddharth Industry and Commerce Association, said that the private sector in Ruppandehi has done shocking work since the airport construction phase. "First, when the leader asked us to invest, there are no hotels for guests to stay after the airport is operational, so we invested," he said. We have already invested 80 billion double of that.' He said that he understood that the plane will not operate only by building a terminal building and a runway. He says that the government seems indifferent to the investment security of the private sector.

President of Siddharth Hotel Association, CP Shrestha, expressed his grief that he has not been heard even though he has been shouting with the same demand for three years . "How long should we ask for labor, manpower, medical and visa centers," he said. Gyanendra Karki, president of Tilottma Industry and Commerce Association, mentioned that the airport has become a topic of speech for the leaders and said, 'Nobody listened to our problem . The time has come to understand the problem of the leaders that is stopping the operation of the airport and find a solution, only assurances do not give a solution.
warning of the movement

Until last year, only the private sector of Rupandehi was agitating for regular international flights from the airport. This year, the people's representatives of the district have also expressed their solidarity in the movement. As soon as all the airlines flying from here returned, Siddharth Network Rupandehi started a pressure program . The network conducted several debates with the participation of interested parties. After several discussions, Siddhartha Industry and Commerce Association, Rupandehi Industry and Trade Organization announced a phased protest program. Those organizations organized a rally by tying a black belt in protest.

After pressure from the private sector, the Siddharthnagar municipality also called the stakeholders and organized a discussion in the office. Political parties of Rupandehi, representatives of the private sector participated in the program. Siddharth Nagar Chief Istiyaq Ahmed Khan said that if the meeting does not immediately prepare the environment for the operation of the airport, it has been decided to stop the collection of air tickets from the closure of the customs checkpoint. "The hoteliers in the city area are being blacklisted," he said, "the soul of the forced laugher has burned." "We are tired of talking and listening," he said.

Pramod Yadav, former member of the House of Representatives, said that the state has created a situation where it is necessary to announce a program such as strike/bandh to operate aircraft. "What is the reason why the plane has to land in Kathmandu even though it has been flying in the sky for a long time?" He said, "Isn't it clear that the businessmen and employees of Kathmandu who have made a profit from this don't want to send a plane?"
The Siddharth Chamber of Commerce and Industry also organized a pressing program for the sustainable operation of the airport on Wednesday with the participation of the local level head of the district, MPs representing the district and the state in the union, the chief minister of Lumbini province, and the president of private sector organizations.