Incentives For Airlines At New Airports

Lumbini and its neighbouring areas may witness more tourism activities in the days to come as some foreign international airlines are set to operate their regular flights to and from the Gautam Buddha International Airport (GBIA). Located in Bhairahawa, GBIA is the country’s second international airport after the Tribhuvan International Airport (TIA). The Kuwait-based Jazeera Airways is going to resume its three weekly flights between Kuwait and Bhairahawa from October 28. The airline launched its services to Bhairahawa following the inauguration of the expanded airport on May 16, 2022. However, the carrier suspended its flight operations about 10 months ago, citing commercial and technical reasons. 

FlyDubai, a Dubai-based carrier, is also preparing to begin its daily services between Lumbini and Dubai from November 10, with its stopover in Kathmandu.  As part of its preparation for launching fights to GBIA, a technical team from this carrier had visited the airport to assess the services and facilities available there. The willingness shown by the airlines to operate their services to Bhairahawa has brought a lot of cheers to the local residents as well as entrepreneurs. The operation of these international flights to and from Bhairahawa is expected to be helpful for Nepali migrant workers. 

Another airline — Thai AirAsia—is also working out plans for launching its scheduled flights between Bangkok and Bhairahawa. The Bangkok-based airline has commenced its flights to Kathmandu since October 2. Thailand is one of the important tourist source markets for Nepal, with about 40,000 Thai travellers visiting the country every year. A number of Thai travellers, especially Buddhist pilgrims, are interested in visiting Lumbini.  

Tourist destination 

Despite being one of the most potential tourist destinations in Nepal, Lumbini has failed to welcome more international travellers. It has also been unable to achieve the desired economic growth even when the private sector has invested billions in the tourism industry and other businesses since the start of construction of GBIA. Being the birthplace of the Lord Buddha, Lumbini holds much religious and spiritual significance. Lumbini is considered as the holiest place for followers of Buddhism from across the globe as Mecca for Muslims, Jerusalem for Jews and the Vatican City for Christians.   

GBIA, a mega airport project, was anticipated to be a game changer when it comes to the overall development of Lumbini and its adjacent regions. But the airport could not come into commercial operations for long even after its completion due to a lack of effective promotion and marketing and necessary services and facilities. Owing to immense pressure from the private sector, the government has taken the initiative to bring the airport into operation. It has offered various incentives for the airlines willing to fly to and from Bhairahawa. Such airlines will get incentives on landing charges, parking fees and aviation fuels. 

As the Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal (CAAN) is going to start carrying out the maintenance task at the TIA’s runway from November 8, it has made changes in the airport operations schedule. This will affect both international and domestic flights. In line with this change, airlines have adjusted their timetables.  The airport will remain closed for the maintenance from 8pm to 8am. This may cause flight delays or rescheduling of early morning or late-night flights. Flight availability will also be limited because of increased air traffic congestion within the slashed operational hours. The CAAN plans to complete the maintenance work by March 31 next year. Taking this view, airlines have started looking for alternative airports to give continuity to their services in Nepal. 

The government also needs to make every possible effort to bring the Pokhara Regional International Airport (PRIA) into operation. The airport that was launched on January 1, 2023 has not been successful in attracting any commercial international flight as of now. So, extra efforts are required to attract foreign airlines to both GBIA and PRIA. GBIA has been built with an investment of Rs. 40 billion with funding from the Asian Development Bank (ADB) and the OPEC Fund for International Development while PRIA has been constructed with a commercial loan assistance of Rs. 22 billion from China. If these national pride projects are not operationalised in full swing, they are sure to emerge as a white elephant for the nation.

Air safety issue

Air operators do not appear to be interested in utilising these airports as alternatives to TIA considering the issue of air safety and essential infrastructure. It is quite challenging for the airlines to operate flights to GBIA because of foggy weather in winter. The airport does not have an instrumental landing system (ILS). Showing safety reasons, India has not allowed Nepal to operate ILS at this airport. The Nepal government must request India for facilitation in this connection. In the past, the airport did not have visa centres, labour offices, manpower agencies and health examination facilities. In recent times, the GBIA management, however, has made sure that immigration, customs, and security procedures are operational. It has coordinated with different bodies to ensure necessary preparations for the operation of the airport. Now, the airport has 21 passenger service counters. With the operation of regular flights, additional services and facilities will be in place at the airport.

It is notable that the government seems to have given high priority to the operation of both BGIA and PRIA. It has already formed a taskforce to explore possibilities for maximising airport operations. The government now needs to concentrate its efforts on luring airlines, especially from immediate neighbours and Buddhist countries, to Lumbini and Pokhara. This will prove to be instrumental not only in sustaining the new airports but also the tourism business in and around these key tourist destinations. 

(The author is a former deputy executive editor of this daily.)