Airport ​​​​Overview 

Gautam Buddha International Airport, also known as Bhairahawa Airport was initially began as a domestic airport in 1958. In 1977 it was renamed in honour of Lord Gautam Buddha, who was born in Lumbini, located 18 KM west of the airport. This airport was later upgraded to an international airport, on 16 May 2022 it served the first international flight. It has a 3000 m long single runway. It is one of the three international airports of Nepal, others are Tribhuvan International Airport in Kathmandu and Pokhara International Airport in Pokhara. The airport features a cargo building with a capacity of  8000 square meter. However, this storage area often remains unutilized due to the absence of regular scheduled international flights. Unfortunately, there is no cold storage facility available as of now, however, a designated space has been allocated in the newly constructed cargo building to establish the cold storage facility when required. For the transportation of temperature-sensitive and medical cargo, careful planning is essential. 

Airport Location and Contact
Country	Nepal
Province or District	Lumbini Province, Rupandehi District
Nearest Town or City   with Distance from Airport	Bhairahawa,  2.5 km east of the airport
Airport’s Complete Name	Gautam Budhha International Airport (Bhairahawa Airport)
Latitude	27.50620
Longitude	83.41752
Elevation (ft and m)	346.5 ft / 105.6 m
IATA Code	BWA
ICAO Code	VNBW
Managing Company or Airport Authority	Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal (CAAN), Bhairahawa Airport  Off: 977-71597021 Tower: 977-71597043  Fax: 977-71455004  AFS: VNBWYDYX  E-mail: gautambuddha_cao@caanepal.gov.np
Management Contact Person	Mr. Hansa Raj Pandey, General Manager
Open: Day only or 24 hrs	16 Feb to 15 Nov – 06:00 LT to 00:00 LT  16 Nov to 15 Feb – 06:30 LT to 00:00 LT
Number of Runways (including length and width)	1, RWY 10/28 3000mx45m
Number of helipads, including dimensions	No designated helipads, with prior approval airport authorities can designate an area for helicopter landing as per requirements

Airport Picture 

 

 

Description and Contacts of Key Companies 

Although Gautam Buddha International Airport (GBIA) started international operation in May 2022, it is not yet operated at full capacity, it has only served occasional international flights. The key companies present at the airport are the Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal (CAAN), GBIA Customs Office, Nepal Police, and Nepal Army.   

For more information on airport contacts, please see the following link: 4.5 Airport Companies Contact List. 

Information on some aviation service providers can be found at: http://www.azfreight.com/ and https://www.airportdata.com/ 

Airport Infrastructure Details 

GBIA features a newly built 3000 m x 45 m single runway which is used for take-offs and landings. The old 1500 m runway is currently being used as a parallel taxiway. 

Customs	Yes	JET A-1 fuel	Yes
Immigration	Yes	AVGAS 100	No
Terminal Building	Yes	Ground Handling Services	Yes
Passenger Terminal	Yes	Cargo terminal	Yes

Airport Operating Details 

Operating Details
Maximum Sized Aircraft that can be Offloaded on Bulk Cargo	B777-200 or similar (Remarks: can be parked at International Apron Bay No.2)
Maximum Sized Aircraft that can be Offloaded on Pallet	B777-200 or similar (Remarks: can be parked at International Apron Bay No.2)
Storage Area (m3 and MT)	Existing 500 MT (New Cargo building under construction)
Handling Equipment
Elevators / Hi Loaders	No	Max Capacity (MT)
		Max Height  (m)
Loading Ramps	Yes, 2 available
Other Comments	Nepal Airlines Corporation provides the ground handling service with equipment. In case of requirement, needed equipment can be made available from Kathmandu. (A week advance notice to be provided)

Customs Guidance 

The government has established a customs office at the airport for smooth clearance of import and export cargo. For individual travelers, all baggage must be declared and cleared through customs on arrival at the port of entry. For import of cargo, the importer must apply along with air waybill copies to the customs office for clearance of goods.

Procedures and custom waiver process for relief items can be found in 1.3 Nepal Customs Information. 

CLEARING AGENTS
Company Name	What categories do they treat (food, fuel, vehicles, pharmaceuticals, or all-rounders)?	Bonded/Non-bonded warehouse Capacity	Temperature controlled /Non temperature controlled
Rising Star Cargo Pvt Ltd	All rounder	No	No

 

Storage ​​Facilities 

Nepal Transit and Warehousing Company Ltd (NTWCL) is managing the newly built cargo building at GBIA. The new building is constructed at an area of 8000 m². The airport has not yet functioned at full capacity and the storage space for cargo generally remains empty, however, it is essential to note that there is no cold storage facility available. Therefore, careful planning is necessary for the shipment of temperature-sensitive and medical cargo. 

 

BONDED STORAGE (STORAGE AVAILABLE BEFORE CUSTOMS)
Storage condition	Number of Storage Facilities	Total Area  (m²)	Total volume (m³)	Handling requirement
Open air	N/A
General cargo (closed)	N/A
Bagged Cargo	N/A
Temperature controlled (15 to 25 °C)	N/A
Keep Cool (2 to 8 °C)	N/A
Freezing Temp (minus 25 to minus 15°C)	N/A
Ultra cold-chain temp (minus 80 to minus 60°C)	N/A
Narcotics Cage	N/A

  

NON-BONDED STORAGE (STORAGE AVAILABLE AFTERS CUSTOMS)
Storage condition	Number of Storage Facilities	Total Area  (m²)	Total Volume (m³)	Handling requirement
Open air	N/A
General cargo (closed)	1	8000 m²
Bagged Cargo	N/A
Temperature controlled (15 to 25 °C)	N/A
Keep Cool (2 to 8 °C)	N/A
Freezing Temp (minus 25 to minus 15°C)	N/A
Ultra cold-chain temp (minus 80 to minus 60°C)	N/A
Narcotics Cage	N/A

 

Airfield Costs 

NAVIGATION CHARGES 

All fees except the passenger service charge and entrance fees should be paid by the commander of the aircraft or agent without demand before the aircraft departs from the aerodrome. For aircraft carrying out international flights, all payments of fees should be made in US dollars.  

Charges	Aircraft Weight - MTOW (kg)
	0 - 7,000	7,001 - 136,000	136,001 and over
Navigation (per journey) USD - $	$45.90 (up to 25,00 kg)	$76.50 (25,001 kg to 50,000 kg)    $152.75 (50,001 kg to 75,000 kg)	$303.50 (any part over 75,000 kg)
Landing USD - $	12.50  (up to 10,000 kg)	12.50 plus, 2.50 each for 1000 kg (10,001 kg to 25,000 kg)    50.00 plus 3.75 for each 1000 kg (25,001 kg to 50,000 kg)    143.75 plus 6.00 for each 1000 kg (50,001 kg to 75,000 kg)    293.75 plus 7.35 for each 1000 kg (75,001 kg to 100,000 kg)	447.50 plus 8.55 for each 1000 kg (any part over 100,000 kg)
Night Landing USD - $	N/A	N/A	N/A
Night Take-Off USD - $	N/A	N/A	N/A
Parking	$1.00 per kg (up to 50,000 kg)	$50.00 plus $1.05 for each 1000kg (50,001 kg to 100,000 kg)	$22.25 plus $1.95 for each 1000 kg (any part over 100,000 kg)
Handling Charges	NPR 5,000 (for self-handling) NPR 10,000 (for commercial ground handling)	NPR 5,000 (for self-handling) NPR 10,000 (for commercial ground handling)	NPR 5,000 (for self-handling) NPR 10,000 (for commercial ground handling)

13 % VAT is applicable in the above-mentioned charges. (Source: CAAN AIP Nepal)  

An additional charge will be levied for each landing made outside of the published operation hours of the aerodrome based on time used, on an hourly basis. For international flights, this amount is fixed as NRS 35,000 (excluding 13% VAT) per hour.  

Security Charges: Security charges at the rate of 10% of the landing fees as mentioned above shall be imposed.  

The following aircraft are exempted from payment of landing and parking fees:   

a) Foreign diplomatic aircraft engaged on diplomatic missions to Nepal.   

b) Aircraft withheld by Director General, CAAN for necessary investigation.   

c) Such other aircraft as the Director General, CAAN may approve.   

d) UN-registered Aircraft  

FUEL SERVICES CHARGES 

	Price per Litre USD - $
Jet A-1	1.02 / litre (Duty Paid) *
Avgas	N/A

As of 9-Jan-2024  

*Exchange rate: 1 USD = 133.064 NPR 

 

CARGO TERMINAL CHARGES 

A cargo charge at the rate of seventy-five paisa per kilogram is imposed on the cargo imported through the airway. 

Sn	Category of Goods	Export	Import
1	General	Per kg NPR 1.00 or NPR 200 minimum; whichever is higher	Per kg NPR 5.35 or NPR 100 minimum; whichever is higher
2	Valuable	Per kg NPR 2.50 or NPR 250 minimum; whichever is higher	Per kg NPR 8.00 or NPR 200 minimum; whichever is higher
3	Perishable	Per kg NPR 2.00 or Rs 200 minimum; whichever is higher	Per kg NPR 8.00 or NPR 250 minimum; whichever is higher
4	Dangerous	Per kg NPR 5.00 or NPR 500 minimum; whichever is higher	Per kg NPR 16.00 or NPR 400 minimum; whichever is higher
5	Express Courier Bag, Express Courier Parcel and Express Cargo	Per kg NPR 5.00 or NPR 100 minimum; whichever is higher	Per kg NPR 5.00 or NPR 200 minimum; whichever is higher
6	For the export and import of live animals, the service charge is double of service charge for valuable goods

Source: GBIA Cargo Terminal Charges 

 

• In case of palletization and de-palletization of the goods NPR 50.00 per ton will be charged.  

• In case of a request from the goods owner to manage goods beyond office hours and during the holidays separate charge of NPR 200 per consignment will be levied. 

• Demurrage charge will be as follows; 

• Export: For the first seven days no charges are applicable, after 7 days for 30 days NPR 0.75 per kg will be charged and from 31 days to 60 days NPR 1.75 per kg will be charged, 

• Import:  For the first seven days no charges are applicable, after 7 days for 30 days NPR 2.00 per kg will be charged and from 31 days to 60 days NPR 2.50 per kg will be charged. Provided that, if the goods are not taken within the exempted period, demurrage charges shall be levied from the date of receipt of such goods. 

 

Security 

The security of terminal area, access control of restricted area, search of passenger and goods is managed by Nepal police and the security of compound area is provided by Nepal army.