A Thailand-based airline– Thai AirAsia is to fly four times a week from Thailand’s Bangkok to Nepal’s Gautam Buddha International Airport in Bhairahawa.
Currently, Thai AirAsia is also operating its flight in Kathmandu’s Tribhuvan International Airport.
According to the Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal, Thai AirAsia has permitted a total of seven flights to Nepal, with three flights to Kathmandu and four to Bhairahawa.
Thai AirAsia is a Thai low-cost airline. It is a joint venture of Malaysian AirAsia and Thailand’s Asia Aviation. It serves AirAsia’s regularly scheduled domestic and international flights from Bangkok and other cities in Thailand
Gautam Buddha International Airport, also known as Bhairahawa Airport, is an international airport located in Siddharthanagar Lumbini Province west Nepal.
Founded on November 12, 2003 and headquartered in Bangkok, Thailand it currently has 58 Fleets.
Thai AirAsia (FD) has maintained its position as “Most On-Time Airline in Thailand” with an On-Time Arrival rate of 82.52%, which also gave it a Top 3 position among all airlines in Asia Pacific and 7th among global low-cost carriers, according to the On-Time Performance Review 2023.
Due to congestion at Tribhuvan International Airport, the authority is prioritizing flights to Bhairahawa and Pokhara airports, it reports.
Excitement
Meanwhile, as Thai AirAsia agreed to operate the Bangkok-Bhairahawa flight agreement at Gautam Buddha International Airport (GBIA) at Bhairahawa in Rupandehi district, the businessmen and locals are excited. The businessmen have expected that there will be enthusiasm in the tourism sector, which has been stagnant for a long time.
Thai AirAsia’s Bangkok-Bhairahawa flights have boosted enthusiasm in the tourism of Lumbini region. Thai AirAsia’s direct flight from Bangkok to Bhairahawa will have a positive impact on the tourism development of the region.
The airport was built at a cost of Nepalese Rs. 35.66 billion. Looking at this airport, the private sector has also invested huge funds in various tourism infrastructures. But due to not being in operation it has been in crisis for a long time. The then Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba inaugurated the airport on May 16, 2022.
Kuwait’s Jazeera Airways was the first airline to operate regular international flights, but the flights could not be regular. Jazeera Airways flew 126 flights, while Himalayan Airlines made 36 flights and Nepal Airlines made 42 flights from Gautam Buddha International Airport at Bhairahawa.
Now, Jazeera Airways and Himalayan Airlines have stopped their operation from GBIA. However, Nepal Airlines flies to Bhairahawa from Malaysia one day a week.
It seems that Thai AirAsia can increase its business at this airport as most of the tourists from third countries who visit Lumbini come from Thailand.
According to the statistics of the Nepal Tourism Board, Thailand is the eighth country with the highest number of tourists in Nepal.
Locals say, our desire is to have daily flights in this airport, but even so it is a matter of excitement of four flights in a week.
Now, the authorities should look at the chance to fly Bhairahawa-Delhi. Also, Sri Lankan, Chinese Airlines and other Buddhist countries’ airlines should also be attracted.
Good news is Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli directed the concerned officials to operate Pokhara International Airport and Bhairahawa-based Gautam Buddha International Airport smoothly at full capacity.
