An international airport with no international flights

As the pressure on the only international airport in Kathmandu is increasing, it is necessary to operate an international airport as an alternative. But the government has not been able to show the same diligence in the construction of the airport after collecting billions of loan investments.

Two more international airports have been built targeting the major tourist destinations of the country, Lumbini, Pokhara and surrounding areas. Jazeera Airlines flew three days a week from Gautam Buddha International Airport in Bhairahawa, which was built with an investment of more than 35 billion rupees. Later, the flight was stopped due to 'visibility' problems in winter. Although the airport has been equipped with an instrumented landing system (ILS), India has not given permission for its operation. Similarly, the proposal made with India for the addition of air entry point to the west which would be facilitated has not been approved. For Bhairahawa, entering through Simra increases the flight cost as the distance increases. Currently, only Nepal Airlines is making a 'connecting' flight from Kuala Lumpur in Malaysia one day a week.

The operation of Gautam Buddha Airport was expected to increase the number of tourists coming to Lumbini as well as the workers coming from Gulf countries and Malaysia. But for this, the government does not pay attention to infrastructure management. For the operation of the airport, agencies under various ministries such as customs, revenue, and labor are needed. Arrangements have not been made so that facilities such as health check-ups are possible near the airport. Manpower companies, travel agencies are also concentrated in Kathmandu. International flights from the airport decreased as the government did not prioritize operations. 5

In 2022, 31 thousand 355 passengers left Gautam Buddha Airport in the last year. In 2023, only 4,751 people flew. After five months of this year, only about 1,000 people used Gautam Buddha Airport to go abroad. Due to less international flights, the loss of operating expenses is adding up. On the other hand, businessmen who have invested in infrastructure like hotels targeting international flight passengers are also disappointed. They say that more than 40 billion rupees have been invested in the hotel business in and around Ruppandehi in the belief that there will be international flights from the airport. The work of half a dozen star hotels under construction has been stopped.

Some airlines are still interested in flying from Bhairahawa Airport. But they have given conditions like exemption of service charges, landing/parking and ground handling charges and removal of VAT on air tickets. They argue that if there is a discount facility, air fares will decrease and passengers will be attracted. The government should address the issues that are reasonable. Arrangements should be made to get facilities such as health examination, labor permit, insurance, etc. required for workers to go abroad from the same area. If all the procedures needed to fly abroad are possible there, manpower companies and travel agencies also extend their services.

While there are limited number of international flights from Gautam Budh Airport, Pokhara International Airport, which was opened after seven months, has not been able to have commercial flights except for chartered ones a few times. It is an airport built with about 22 billion loan investment. The government has said that a special incentive package will be arranged for the operation of Gautam Buddha and Pokhara International Airports in the policies and programs of the next financial year. But there is no mention of this in the budget brought two weeks later. Instead, it has been said that 'investment framework and preparatory work will be completed' to build another international airport (Nijgarh) in public-private partnership.

The government should learn from Gautam Budh and Pokhara airports that what can happen if an airport is added without making any plan for operations. The government should immediately plan for the operation of these two airports that have been built. The establishment and operation of relevant units under the Ministries of Tourism, Labour, Finance, Home and Defense, which are required for international flights, is urgently needed. Airlines require an incentive program on international flights on the opening day. To remove the discomfort of international flights, the government should take a strong diplomatic initiative to solve the problem of visibility and increase entry points from Indian skies.