The Gautam Buddha International Airport (GBIA) has seen an increase in passenger traffic recently, with a total of 1,326 passengers traveling over 46 flights in an 11-day period. The airport serves flights from airlines like Thai AirAsia, Jazeera Airways, Qatar Airways, Fly Dubai, and Nepal Airlines. Among these, Thai AirAsia and Jazeera Airways are the only carriers offering direct flights, while the others provide transit services via Kathmandu or other hubs.
GBIA spokesperson Deepak Bajracharya noted that passenger occupancy on Jazeera Airways’ direct Kuwait-Bhairahawa-Kuwait round-trip flights has been good, and the same is true for Thai AirAsia’s direct Bangkok-Bhairahawa-Bangkok service, which has seen a rise in passenger numbers. Specifically, Thai AirAsia, which recently began commercial flights to Bhairahawa, started with just two passengers on its first flight but now carries 14 passengers from Bangkok to Bhairahawa, and 79 passengers from Bhairahawa to Bangkok.
Additionally, there is growing demand for transit flights, with passengers traveling to Doha and Dubai through connecting flights with Qatar Airways, Fly Dubai, and Nepal Airlines. This trend reflects an increasing popularity of both direct and transit flights at the airport.
