Gautam Buddha International Airport , also known as Bhairahawa Airport, is an international

airport An airport is an aerodrome with extended facilities, mostly for commercial air transport. Airports usually consists of a landing area, which comprises an aerially accessible open space including at least one operationally active surface ...

located in

Siddharthanagar Siddharthanagar ( ne, सिद्धार्थनगर), formerly and colloquially still called Bhairahawa ( ne, भैरहवा), is a municipality and the administrative headquarter of Rupandehi District in Lumbini Province of Nepal, ...

(formerly and colloquially still called Bhairahawa) serving

Lumbini Lumbinī ( ne, लुम्बिनी, IPA=ˈlumbini , "the lovely") is a Buddhist pilgrimage site in the Rupandehi District of Lumbini Province in Nepal. It is the place where, according to Buddhist tradition, Queen Mahamayadevi gave birth ...

Lumbini Province Lumbini Province ( ne, लुम्बिनी प्रदेश, Lumbinī pradēśa) is a province in western Nepal. It borders Gandaki Province and Karnali Province to the north, Sudurpashchim Province to the west, Uttar Pradesh and Bihar o ...

, as well as the

Butwal Butwal ( ne, बुटवल), officially Butwal Sub-Metropolitan City ( ne, बुटवल उपमहानगरपालिका), is a sub-metropolitan city and economic hub in Lumbini Province in West Nepal. Butwal has a city population ...

﹣

urban agglomeration in

Nepal Nepal (; ne, नेपाल ), formerly the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal ( ne, सङ्घीय लोकतान्त्रिक गणतन्त्र नेपाल ), is a landlocked country in South Asia. It is mai ...

. Since May 2022, it is Nepal's second international airport, after previously only handling domestic services.

History

The airport was opened as a domestic airport called Bhairahawa Airport providing flights to

Kathmandu , pushpin_map = Nepal Bagmati Province#Nepal#Asia , coordinates = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = , subdivision_type1 = Province , subdivision_name1 = Bagmati Prov ...

in 1958 and has since been operated by the

Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal The Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal (CAAN, ne, नेपाल नागरिक उड्डयन प्राधिकरण, translit=Nepāl Nāgarik Uḍḍayan Prādhikaraṇ) is an independent civil aviation regulator. It was establishe ...

. In 1985, the airport was one of the targets of the Nepal bombings. In 1977, the airport was renamed Gautam Buddha Airport in honor of

Gautam Buddha Gautama, Gautam or Gotama may refer to: Ancient sages and philosophers * Akṣapāda Gautama, a Hindu sage and founder of the Nyaya school of Hindu philosophy: see Nyāya Sūtras * Indrabhuti Gautama, chief disciple of Mahavira * Gautama Buddha, t ...

, who was born in neighboring village Lumbini. Aircraft_at_GBIA

Expansion to international airport

First plans to develop the then domestic airport into Nepal's second

international airport An international airport is an airport with customs and border control facilities enabling passengers to travel between countries around the world. International airports are usually larger than domestic airports and they must feature longer ...

were developed in 2013 with the aim of operating the upgraded airport by 2017 in order to relieve the congested

Tribhuvan International Airport Tribhuvan International Airport ( Nepali: त्रिभुवन अन्तर्राष्ट्रिय विमानस्थल) (, colloquially referred to as TIA) is an international airport located in Kathmandu, Bagmati, Nepal. I ...

. The project was financed by a loan and grant aid from the

Asian Development Bank The Asian Development Bank (ADB) is a regional development bank established on 19 December 1966, which is headquartered in the Ortigas Center located in the city of Mandaluyong, Metro Manila, Philippines. The bank also maintains 31 field office ...

. The contract to upgrade the airport was awarded to the Chinese company Northwest Civil Aviation Airport Construction Group in October 2014. In January 2015,

prime minister A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister is not ...

Sushil Koirala Sushil Prasad Koirala (; 12 August 1931 – 9 February 2016) was a Nepalese politician and the Prime Minister of Nepal from 11 February 2014 to 10 October 2015. He was also President of the Nepali Congress from 2010 to 2016, having earlier serve ...

laid the foundation stone of the new airport with the aim of beginning operations at the airport December 2017. It was planned to have a runway and sixteen international parking bays. In 2017, the upgradation works were delayed for more than six months and the deadline of the completion was extended to 2019 due to the

2015 Nepal earthquake The April 2015 Nepal earthquake (also known as the Gorkha earthquake) killed 8,964 people and injured 21,952 more. It occurred at on Saturday, 25 April 2015, with a magnitude of 7.8Moment magnitude scale, Mw or 8.1Surface wave magnitude, Ms an ...

and the

2015 Nepal blockade : The 2015 Nepal blockade, which began on 23 September 2015 and lasted about six months, was an economic and humanitarian crisis which severely affected Nepal and its economy. Nepal has accused India of imposing an undeclared blockade trigger ...

. In July 2019, the project's deadline was extended and the expansion was expected to be completed by December 2019. Due to the

COVID-19 pandemic in Nepal The COVID-19 pandemic in Nepal is part of the worldwide pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 () caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (). The first case in Nepal was confirmed on 23 January 2020 when a 31-year-old st ...

, the opening of the airport was postponed again in July 2020 to March 2021. In June 2021, the opening was again postponed until early 2022, as final tests could not take place during

monsoon A monsoon () is traditionally a seasonal reversing wind accompanied by corresponding changes in precipitation but is now used to describe seasonal changes in atmospheric circulation and precipitation associated with annual latitudinal oscil ...

season. In late 2021, the

calibration flight In measurement technology and metrology, calibration is the comparison of measurement values delivered by a device under test with those of a calibration standard of known accuracy. Such a standard could be another measurement device of known ...

s were postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic in Nepal, resulting in further postponement of the opening of the airport. These flights took place in February 2022. On 30 January 2022, the official opening date was set to

Buddha Jayanti Buddha's Birthday (also known as Buddha Jayanti, also known as his day of enlightenment – Buddha Purnima, Buddha Pournami) is a Buddhist festival that is celebrated in most of East Asia and South Asia commemorating the birth of the Prince ...

on 26 May 2022. In March 2022, it was announced that

Jazeera Airways Jazeera Airways K.S.C ( ar, طيران الجزيرة) is a Kuwaiti airline with its head office on the grounds of Kuwait International Airport in Al Farwaniyah Governorate, Kuwait. It operates scheduled services in the Middle East, Nepal, Pakis ...

would be the first international airline to serve the airport. On 21 April 2022, the newly built 3,000 m

runway According to the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), a runway is a "defined rectangular area on a land aerodrome prepared for the landing and takeoff of aircraft". Runways may be a man-made surface (often asphalt concrete, as ...

was opened while the old one was put into use as a taxiway. The airport was officially opened with the arrival of the first international flight by

on 16 May 2022. As by November 2022, only one international carrier served the airport, the

(CAAN) forced any airline operating more than three flights a day from Nepal's other international airport,

to also operate from Gautam Buddha Airport. This sparked a controversy, as CAAN canceled flights by

Nepal Airlines Nepal Airlines Corporation ( ne, नेपाल वायुसेवा निगम, Nepāl Vāyusevā Nigam, Nepal Air Service Corporation), formerly known as Royal Nepal Airlines ( ne, शाही नेपाल वायुसेवा, ...

as the airline did not comply with this ruling.

Facilities

Runway

The airport has one

designated 10/28 with an

Asphalt concrete Asphalt concrete (commonly called asphalt, blacktop, or pavement in North America, and tarmac, bitumen macadam, or rolled asphalt in the United Kingdom and the Republic of Ireland) is a composite material commonly used to surface roads, parkin ...

(Bituminous Paved) surface measuring . It has an east-west orientation with a designation of 10/28 and a 200 meters Runway End Safety Area (RESA) on both side. It features a 1,500-meter x 23 meters parallel taxiway (10-28) used previously for the domestic airplanes.

Aids to Landing and Navigation

Advanced navigational aids and airport lighting for safety and navigation is installed. There are two

non-precision approach In aviation, an instrument approach or instrument approach procedure (IAP) is a series of predetermined maneuvers for the orderly transfer of an aircraft operating under instrument flight rules from the beginning of the initial approach to a landi ...

available at the Gautam Buddha Airport;

VHF omnidirectional range Very high frequency omnirange station (VOR) is a type of short-range radio navigation system for aircraft, enabling aircraft with a receiving unit to determine its position and stay on course by receiving radio signals transmitted by a network ...

along a distance measuring equipment ( DVOR/DME) and Required Area Navigation (RNAV/RNP). A non-directional (radio) beacon (NDB) is installed at the northern side of the airport. One Automatic Dependent Surveillance Broadcasting (ADS-B) Sensor has been installed by CAAN at Bhairahawa to extend the surveillance coverage within the local airspace. There is an

instrument landing system In aviation, the instrument landing system (ILS) is a precision radio navigation system that provides short-range guidance to aircraft to allow them to approach a runway at night or in bad weather. In its original form, it allows an aircraft to ...

available to allow aircraft landing even in reduced visibility. The airport also possesses a visual guidance system which gives visual information to the pilot attempting to park the aircraft at the airport parking bay.ADB (2020). Nepal: South Asia Subregional Economic Cooperation Airport Capacity Enhancement Project

Terminals

Gautam Buddha International Airport view

The airport consists of two public terminals at the airport, one for international traffic and one for domestic traffic. During the upgrade to an international airport, but before the opening of it, the Ministry of Culture, Tourism and Civil Aviation announced to build a new 35,000m² international terminal for the airport. The current terminal would be used as domestic terminal afterwards. The

Government of Nepal The Government of Nepal ( ne, नेपाल सरकार) is the federal executive authority of Nepal. Prior to the abolition of the Nepali monarchy in 2006 (became republic in 2008), it was officially known as His Majesty's Government. T ...

sought suggestions on different designs for terminals of Gautam Buddha International Airport through social media. The new terminal would have 4 Sky-bridges, which the current terminal is lacking.

Airlines and destinations

Statistics

Access

The airport is located near Feeder Road 44, which was enlarged in 2018 to ease access to the airport.

Ground transportation

As of 2020 it is planned that a system of electric busses will serve Gautam Buddha Airport.

Sustainability

Ground vehicles used here will be fully electric. Currently there are nine fast charging stations installed in this airport. There are plans to make the airport fully solar powered, making it after

Cochin International Airport Cochin International Airport is an International airport serving the city of Kochi, in the state of Kerala, India. Located at Nedumbassery, about northeast of the city centre, Cochin International Airport is first of its kind which is develo ...

only the second airport worldwide to do so.

Incidents and accidents

* 5 November 1960 – A

Royal Nepal Airlines Nepal Airlines Corporation ( ne, नेपाल वायुसेवा निगम, Nepāl Vāyusevā Nigam, Nepal Air Service Corporation), formerly known as Royal Nepal Airlines ( ne, शाही नेपाल वायुसेवा, ...

Douglas DC-3 The Douglas DC-3 is a propeller-driven airliner manufactured by Douglas Aircraft Company, which had a lasting effect on the airline industry in the 1930s to 1940s and World War II. It was developed as a larger, improved 14-bed sleeper version ...

crashed upon take-off at Bhairahawa Airport and caught fire. All 4 crew members died. There were no passengers on board. * 7 August 1995 – An

Indian Airlines Indian Airlines was a division of Air India Limited. It was based in Delhi and focused primarily on domestic routes, along with several international services to neighbouring countries in Asia. It was a division of Air India Limited after mer ...

Douglas DC-8 The Douglas DC-8 (sometimes McDonnell Douglas DC-8) is a long-range narrow-body airliner built by the American Douglas Aircraft Company. After losing the May 1954 US Air Force tanker competition to the Boeing KC-135, Douglas announced in Ju ...

crashlanded at Bhairahawa Airport, killing one pilot. * 24 September 2016 – A

Yeti Airlines Yeti Airlines Pvt. Ltd. ( ne, यती एअरलाइन्स) is an airline based in Kathmandu, Nepal. The airline was established in May 1998 and received its Air Operators Certificate on 17 August 1998. Since 2019, Yeti Airlines is ...

BAe Jetstream 41 The British Aerospace Jetstream 41 is a turboprop-powered feederliner and regional airliner, designed by British Aerospace as a stretched version of the popular Jetstream 31. Intended to compete directly with 30-seat aircraft like the Embraer ...

en route from

Kathmandu , pushpin_map = Nepal Bagmati Province#Nepal#Asia , coordinates = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = , subdivision_type1 = Province , subdivision_name1 = Bagmati Prov ...

overran the runway while landing at Gautam Buddha Airport. All 29 passengers and the crew of 3 were unhurt but the aircraft was damaged beyond repair.

References

External links

* {{authority control Airports in Nepal Buildings and structures in Rupandehi District National Pride Projects Airports established in 1958 1958 establishments in Nepal