Gautam Buddha Airport


Gautam Buddha Airport[1] (IATA: BWA, ICAO: VNBW),[4] also known as Bhairahawa Airport, is an international airport located in Siddharthanagar (Bhairahawa)[3] serving Lumbini in Lumbini Province, as well as the Butwal﹣Siddharthanagar urban agglomeration in Nepal. It is currently upgraded to serve international flights. Operation of the runway of the airport has began in April 2022, with the first international flights scheduled for May 16.[5] [6][7][8] It is Nepal's second international airport. There are plans to make the airport fully solar powered, making it after Cochin International Airport only the second airport worldwide to do so.[9] Nepal Airlines Corporation conducted a maiden test flight on 28 April, 2022. A team of 260 individuals including Minister for Culture, Tourism and Civil Aviation Prem Bahadur Ale and CAAN Director General Pradeep Adhikari boarded the test flight.

Gautam Buddha International Airport[1]

गौतम बुद्ध अन्तर्राष्ट्रिय विमानस्थल
Summary
Airport typePublic
OwnerGovernment of Nepal
OperatorCivil Aviation Authority of Nepal
ServesLumbini Province, Nepal
Elevation AMSL358 ft / 109 m
Coordinates27°30′20″N 083°24′58″E
Map
Gautam Buddha Airport
Location in Nepal
Gautam Buddha Airport
Gautam Buddha Airport (Nepal)
Runways
Direction Length Surface
m ft
10/28 3,000 9,843 Asphalt concrete
Source: DAFIF[2][3]

History

The airport was opened as a domestic airport called Bhairahawa Airport providing flights to Kathmandu in 1958 and has since been operated by the Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal.[10] In 1985, the airport was one of the targets of the Nepal bombings.[11][12] In 1977, the airport was renamed Gautam Buddha Airport, now Gautam Buddha International Airport, in honor of Gautam Buddha, who was born in neighboring village Lumbini.[13] [14]

Nepal Airlines at Gautam Buddha International airport

Expansion to international airport
Plan of international terminal

First plans to develop the then domestic airport into Nepal's second international airport were developed in 2013 with the aim of operating the upgraded airport by 2017[15] in order to relieve the congested Tribhuvan International Airport.[16]

The project was financed by a loan and grant aid from the Asian Development Bank. The contract to upgrade the airport was awarded to the Chinese company Northwest Civil Aviation Airport Construction Group in October 2014.[17]

In 2015, construction began. It is planned to have a 3,000 metres (9,843 ft) runway and sixteen international parking bays.[18] 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 and the 2015 Nepal blockade.[19] In July 2019, the project's deadline was extended and the expansion was expected to be completed by December 2019.[20] Due to the COVID-19 pandemic in Nepal, the opening of the airport was postponed again in July 2020 to March 2021.[21] In June 2021, the opening was again postponed until early 2022, as final tests could not take place during monsoon season.[22]

In late 2021, the calibration flights were postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic in Nepal, resulting in further postponement of the opening of the airport.[23] These flights took place in February 2022.[24]

On 30 January 2022, the official opening date was set to Buddha Jayanti on 26 May 2022.[6]

In March 2022, it was announced that Jazeera Airways would be the first international airline to serve the airport.[25]

On 21 April 2022, the newly built 3,000 m runway was opened while the old one was put into use as a taxiway.[26]

Future plans

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 international terminal for the airport. The current terminal will be used as domestic terminal after Phase 2 is completed. Minister Yogesh Bhattarai sought suggestions on different designs for terminals of Gautam Buddha International Airport through social media.[27] The terminal will have Sky-bridges, which the current terminal is lacking.


Facilities

The airport is at an elevation of 358 feet (109 m) above mean sea level. It has one runway designated 10/28 with an asphalt surface measuring 3,000 by 45 metres (9,843 ft × 148 ft).[2]

Statistics
Annual passenger traffic at BWA airport. See source Wikidata query.

Airlines and destinations
Yeti Airlines ATR 72-500 at Gautam Buddha Airport
AirlinesDestinationsRefs.
Buddha Air Bharatpur, Kathmandu, Pokhara[28][29]
Guna Airlines Kathmandu [30]
Nepal AirlinesKathmandu[31]
Saurya Airlines Kathmandu[32]
Shree Airlines Kathmandu[33]
Yeti Airlines Kathmandu, Pokhara[34]

Access

The airport is located near Feeder Road 44.

Ground transportation

Upon the airport's upgrade in 2022, a system of electric busses will serve Gautam Buddha Airport.[35]

Incidents and accidents

References
  1. "CAAN - Gautam Buddha International Airport". caanepal.gov.np.
  2. Airport information for VNBW from DAFIF (effective October 2006)
  3. Airport information for Bhairawa, Nepal - Gautam Buddha International Airport (VNBW / BWA) at Great Circle Mapper. Source: DAFIF (effective October 2006).
  4. https://caanepal.gov.np › mediaPDF GAUTAM BUDDHA INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT - CAAN
  5. "Gautam Buddha International Airport brought into operation". himalayantimes. 21 April 2022.
  6. Bhandari, Minraj (30 January 2022). "Gautam Buddha Airport to be operational from May 26". Republica. Retrieved 1 February 2022.
  7. Prasain, Sangam (15 July 2020). "Tourism Ministry drops plan to name Munich Airport as operator of Bhairahawa airport". kathmandupost.com. Retrieved 17 July 2020.
  8. BD, Dipen (6 December 2019). "Gautam Buddha International Airport Due to Open Near Lumbini, Nepal, in Mid-2020". buddhistdoor. Retrieved 4 March 2020.
  9. Prasain, Sangam (28 November 2020). "Plan for airport in Bhairahawa to be fully solar powered gains momentum". Kathmandu Post. Retrieved 29 November 2020.
  10. "Gautam Buddha Airport" (PDF). Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal. Retrieved 31 January 2019.
  11. webindia123. Indian freedom fighters behind Nepal revolution?
  12. Dangol, Sanu Bhai. The Palace in Nepalese Politics: With Special Reference to the Politics of 1951 to 1990. Kathmandu: Ratna Pustak Bhandar, 1999. pp. 128-129
  13. Mandal, Rina Kumar (27 September 2020). "Bringing travellers to the birth place of Lord Buddha". Nepal Traveller. Retrieved 1 January 2021.
  14. https://myrepublica.nagariknetwork.com/amp/nac-wide-body-aircraft-makes-successful-test-flight-at-gautam-buddha-int-l-airport/news.html.twig
  15. Prasain, Sangam (1 December 2013). "Govt plans to complete upgradation of Gautam Buddha airport by 2017". The Kathmandu Post.
  16. Prasain, Sangam (28 November 2019). "Bhairahawa airport is nearing completion, but no foreign airline has applied to serve it". The Kathmandu Post. Retrieved 4 March 2020.
  17. "Gautam Buddha Airport Project: 2nd package of project to start in Feb". The Kathmandu Post. 24 November 2017. Retrieved 27 March 2013.
  18. "Gautam Buddha Airport to have 16 parking bays". The Kathmandu Post. 3 August 2018. Retrieved 31 January 2019.
  19. Anurup, Pathak (16 February 2018). "Gautam Buddha Int'l Airport project becoming progressive". Aviation Nepal. Retrieved 27 March 2018.
  20. "GBIA deadline extended till December". The Himalayan Times. Retrieved 14 July 2019.
  21. Gautam, Santosh (3 July 2020). "The operation of Bhairahawa Airport has been postponed for one year". Aviation Nepal. Retrieved 4 July 2020.
  22. Prasain, Sangam (12 June 2021). "Monsoon holds up finishing touches at Bhairahawa international airport". The Kathmandu Post. Retrieved 3 July 2021.
  23. Prasain, Sangam (20 November 2021). "Testing of equipment at Bhairahawa airport to start soon". The Kathmandu Post. Retrieved 1 February 2022.
  24. "Gautam Buddha International Airport starts Calibration flights". Nepal News. 18 February 2022. Retrieved 17 March 2022.
  25. "Nepal's second international airport to start flights on May 16; Kuwait the first destination". Onlinekhabar. 14 March 2022. Retrieved 17 March 2022.
  26. "Gautam Buddha International Airport in operation". Mt Everest Today. 21 April 2022.
  27. Republica. "Aviation minister seeks suggestions for terminal designs of Gautam Buddha Airport". My Republica. Retrieved 13 October 2020.
  28. "Flights from Kathmandu to Bhairahawa". Buddha Air. Retrieved 1 July 2019.
  29. "Flights from Pokhara to Bhairahawa". Buddha Air. Retrieved 1 July 2019.
  30. "Guna Airlines launches flights to Bhairahawa". Guna Airlines. Retrieved 6 October 2021.
  31. "Domestic Schedule". Nepal Airlines. Retrieved 1 July 2019.
  32. "Bhairahawa". Saurya Airlines. Retrieved 1 July 2019.
  33. "Bahirahawa". Shree Airlines. Retrieved 1 July 2019.
  34. "Scheduled Flights". Yeti Airlines. Retrieved 19 July 2019.
  35. "Sajha's electric buses gather dust for the want of charging stations". Online Khabar. Retrieved 3 November 2020.
  36. "Aviation Safety Network". Retrieved 18 November 2006.
  37. "Pilot killed". The Straights Times. 8 August 1995.
  38. "Yeti Airlines 9N-AIB Escaped from an accident". Aviation Nepal. 24 September 2016.
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