By Our Reporter
India’s ill intention is responsible for the non-operation of the Gautam Buddha International Airport built in Bhairahawa spending Rs. 35 billion.
GBIA, the second international airport of Nepal, was built with the assistance of the Asian Development Bank. It is also the only airport in Nepal to have Instrumental Landing System (ILS). The equipment was installed at the airport at a cost of around one billion rupees.
Interestingly, when the ADB floated its projects to install ILS in airports of India, Bangladesh and Nepal, India had agreed to set up it at GBIA of Nepal.
But now India has denied permitting to use the ILS which covers some areas in India,
The ILS was installed in the airport so that flight and landing can be done even when visibility is low. The ILS is an agile radio navigation system that provides instrument guidance for aircraft to ‘approach’ the runway at night or in bad weather. After installing this system, the aircraft can be landed only in visibility of about 500 meters.
But now India has not permitted to use of the equipment. As a result, the airport has remained deserted although it lies near Lumbini, the birthplace of the Buddha.
It is suspected that whether India is taking revenge against Nepal by not giving permission to use ILS installed in Bhairahawa Airport when Nepal denied allowing the Indian Marshal at the Tribhuvan International Airport, which India has been demanding since the hijacking of an Indian aircraft from Kathmandu in 1990.
Then the Indian government had to release three prisoners to free the hijacked plane and its crew from Kandahar in Afghanistan. Then India blamed poor security at TIA for the hijack and demanded that the government of Nepal should allow the Indian Marshal at the TIA, which Nepal denied because of public protest. Now the Marshal comes but remains in the aircraft without landing on the ground.
Now when Nepal is seeking permission to use ILS and the Indian sky for the aircraft landing at the GBIA, India is denying which has increased the risk of losing the investment made in building GBIA.
Not only GBIA but also the newly inaugurated Pokhara International Airport built-in Chinese cooperation has also been the target of India. It was evident from the recent news aired by the Indian television channels stating that Pokhara Airport poses threat to the security of India.
Tourism entrepreneurs of Bhairahawa were hoping that the start of commercial operation of the Gautam Buddha International Airport (GBIA) would bring more tourists this year. But their excitement did not last long as flights did not take place in this peak season.
Currently, international flights to and from Nepal’s second international airport have been affected due to poor visibility following thick winter fog. Himalaya Airlines and Jazeera Airways have suspended their flights since December 20 and 21, respectively. The Kuwaiti airliner Jazeera which suspended flights until the end of December has informed the airport authority that the suspension will be extended for a few more days due to unfavorable weather conditions.
The airport was inaugurated on May 16, 2022. So far, there have been 154 international flights to and from the airport with 13,593 inbound passengers and 18,025 outbound passengers.
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