Bhairahawa Airport in Crisis: Debt, Despair and Uncertain Future

(BHAIRAHAWA) Three years after its grand opening, Gautam Buddha International Airport (Bhairahawa Airport) remains a showpiece without purpose: there are still No Scheduled International Flights. As of August 18, 2025, the gleaming terminal at Nepal’s southern gateway sits in debt and doubt, even as domestic jets come and go. Local businesses are warning of collapse, the government is promising fixes, and airlines are staying away.

Airport activity and the missing international market

Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal (CAAN) figures show how stark the gap has become. In July 2025 the airport handled:
– 1,106 domestic aircraft movements
– 71,572 domestic passengers
– 60,925 kg of cargo

International passenger traffic was zero.

Officials and business owners had hoped the airport—positioned as the main air link to Lumbini—would attract pilgrims and migrant workers bound for the Gulf and Malaysia. Instead, hotel bookings, tour plans, and repayment schedules tied to a regional boom have stalled.

Costs, investment and financial strain

The numbers behind the airport’s finances tell an even harder story.
– The build cost topped Rs40 billion (roughly US$300 million), according to public project records.
– Around the airport, local entrepreneurs poured another Rs80 billion into hotels, restaurants, and real estate—much of it funded by bank loans.

With no steady international arrivals, cash flow has dried up. Lenders are pressing, borrowers are falling behind, and the fear of a wave of defaults is growing.

“Every month of inaction pushes more small firms to the edge,” say local business groups, arguing the risk is turning the airport into a costly monument to poor planning.

Local pressure and government response

Local stakeholders have moved from appeals to action. Business leaders and civil groups have:
– Staged protests
– Demanded policy changes
– Threatened to shut customs and halt ticketing services unless the government brings in international flights

Minister for Culture, Tourism, and Civil Aviation Badri Prasad Pandey has said repeatedly—first in late 2024 and again this year—that making Bhairahawa and Pokhara airports fully operational is a priority. The government has:
– Set up a recommendation committee
– Cut jet fuel prices
– Granted some tax breaks to lower operating costs

But these steps have not convinced airlines to commit to regular service. Without more, carriers say they can’t make the numbers work.

Routes and rules keep carriers away

For most airlines, one barrier towers above the rest: access to Indian airspace. Carriers need permission for large passenger aircraft to depart west from Bhairahawa and enter India’s flight corridors on efficient paths. Without those routes, planes must take longer detours that burn more fuel and erase thin margins.

Nepali officials say talks with India are ongoing, but no breakthrough has arrived. Until that changes, airlines see Bhairahawa as a risk they can’t justify.

Regulatory and service bottlenecks inside Nepal add to the drag:
– Most migrant workers must still complete medical checks, visa steps, and labor approvals in Kathmandu.
– A Cabinet decision in July 2024 to decentralize these services has yet to take effect—no new offices have opened in Bhairahawa.
– As a result, workers continue to fly from Tribhuvan International Airport, and airlines studying route plans see limited local demand.

Operational control is another sticking point. The Asian Development Bank had made private or foreign operation a condition for financing the airport upgrade. In 2020, that plan was dropped and the facility stayed under CAAN. Local business groups now want the government to invite experienced international operators through a global tender, arguing professional management could build airline trust and speed decisions. So far, there’s no public sign of such a tender.

The airport’s underuse hangs over every policy debate. Built with modern systems and pitched as a future hub with capacity for 9.2 million passengers a year, it is serving only domestic traffic. Past international efforts faded fast: after a brief trial period in 2022, carriers including Jazeera Airways withdrew, citing low visibility, soft demand, and high costs. Those issues were supposed to be solved over time; instead, they have hardened into a status quo.

Human impact: debt, despair and disruption

The human fallout sits behind the headlines.
– Hotel owners who borrowed based on promised pilgrim flows now cut staff and power bills to survive.
– Small transport firms park vans and worry about repayments.
– Young workers from the region still travel to Kathmandu to process labor migration, paying extra for bus rides and lodging before they can fly.
– Families who banked on an airport-led tourism lift feel let down by another delay.

Pressure on the government is building. Stakeholders want three immediate moves:
1. Secure direct, efficient air routes through India for larger jets.
2. Open satellite migration service offices in Bhairahawa so workers can complete checks and approvals locally.
3. Invite private or foreign operators to run the airport under a clear, accountable contract.

Officials argue they’re working on each front but note that airspace talks depend on a neighbor’s consent. They also say fiscal incentives are in place and can be improved if airlines show real interest. Industry watchers counter that deals rarely appear without firm route rights and a strong local passenger base, especially for a new, non-capital hub.

Operational readiness and official guidance

According to CAAN’s public portal, the airport remains open for domestic operations and is ready for international service if carriers file schedules and meet technical requirements. For official notices and traffic updates, see: https://gbia.caanepal.gov.np.

Travelers should plan on domestic connections only; international passengers should continue to route through Kathmandu until airlines announce changes.

Regional comparison and what could change things

Regional context matters. As coverage by VisaVerge.com often notes, secondary international airports in South Asia struggle when:
– Air routes are constrained, and
– Travel services remain centralized in the capital.

Bhairahawa fits that pattern today. The difference is the scale of local investment riding on a rapid fix and the airport’s promise as a gateway to one of the world’s most important Buddhist sites.

Industry sources point to two triggers that could turn the tide:
– A clear announcement from India granting efficient westbound routes would shift airline economics overnight.
– A visible start to decentralizing migration services—real offices, published hours, and processed cases—would show Bhairahawa can generate steady outbound demand.

Fuel discounts and tax relief help, but without routes and passengers, they aren’t enough. Diplomacy will likely decide the routes question; implementation will decide the services question. The Cabinet approved decentralization last year, but implementation has lagged—local leaders say the government controls that lever and should pull it now.

Bottom line

For now, the facts are plain: Gautam Buddha International Airport (Bhairahawa Airport) has the runway, terminal, and systems to host international flights, but there are No Scheduled International Flights. Money has been spent, businesses have invested, and a community has waited.

The fix is not just about planes and procedures. It’s about restoring trust that public promises—about air routes, services, and operations—will become real, and soon.