Nepal Airlines plane makes first commercial landing at GBIA

By Laxman Paudel,Bhairahawa, June 14: A year after the inauguration of Gautam Buddha International Airport in Bhairahawa, Nepal Airlines (NA), the national flag carrier, operated commercial flights for the first time between Malaysia and Bhairahawa, and Kathmandu.

A 158-seat narrow-body aircraft of Nepal Airlines successfully landed at Gautam Buddha International Airport in Bhairahawa at 8:45 a.m. The flight originated from Kuala Lumpur, the capital of Malaysia.

Although the aircraft was scheduled to land at 7:30 a.m., it arrived approximately an hour and a half late and 31 passengers landed at the airport. Minister for Tourism Sudan Kirati welcomed the passengers at the airport, as it marked the first commercial international flight for the Nepali Air Service in the Gautam Buddha International Airport. 

After disembarking the passengers in Bhairahawa, the aircraft departed for Kathmandu. Prior to the flight's departure, Tourism Minister Kirati emphasized the historical significance of this milestone for Gautam Buddha International Airport. He said, "If we establish direct flights from Bhairahawa to Malaysia and Bhairahawa to Delhi, it will have a significant impact on the development of this region. The government is committed to taking concrete initiatives in this regard."

Yuva Raj Adhikari, Chairman of NA, expressed the corporation's ongoing efforts to enhance its managerial capacity. He further highlighted that the corporation had been able to repay approximately Rs. 3 billion in loans primarily due to service improvements.

Assistant Spokesperson of the NA, Ganesh Ghimire, disclosed that the corporation announced the Malaysia-Bhairahawa flight in the first week of June and initially offered a promotional airfare of Rs. 11,000 for the Malaysia-Bhairahawa route. Ghimire informed, "Initially, the promotional one-way fare was set at Rs. 11,000. However, we are currently selling 

one-way tickets for Malaysia-Bhairahawa at Rs. 31,000 and Malaysia-Kathmandu at Rs. 56,000."

Chairman Adhikari also revealed plans for one flight per week using the narrow-body aircraft in the initial phase. He expressed intentions to operate the Malaysia-Bhairahawa-Delhi-Kathmandu route if permission was granted by the Indian authorities.

Bhairahawa, the country's second international airport, was inaugurated by former Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba in June 2022, built with an investment of at least Rs. 10 billion. However, the airport only witnessed test flights by Nepal Airlines' narrow-body and wide-body aircraft, while Jazeera Airlines of Kuwait was the sole commercial airline operating here, but it has recently halted its service. 

Following Jazeera Airlines, Himalaya Airlines, which also has Nepali investors, conducted a charter flight to Malaysia in November. However, neither of these airlines currently operates regularly nor offers charter flights.

According to Hansa Raj Pandey, General Manager of Bhairahawa International Airport, the flight operated by Nepal Airlines from Malaysia to Kathmandu via Bhairahawa is known as a 'turn-around' flight. In such flights, the aircraft disembarks passengers and immediately returns without accommodating additional passengers or changing crew members.