Kuwait’s leading airline, Jazeera Airways is expanding its services in the Middle East, Asia, and Europe. It announced the launch of a new service to Gautam Buddha International Airport in Nepal, connecting the large community of Nepalese expatriates living in the Middle East and Europe to the south-west area of the country.

Speaking at a press conference organised by the company on Wednesday in the capital Vice President-Sales for Jazeera Airways, Ravindran Bharathan said: “Jazeera Airways continues to expand its network to offer destinations that also cater to large expatriate communities that are often not served by direct routes from Kuwait and the Middle East. It now really makes it a lot easier for Nepalese and tourists to get into the Terai area of Nepal rather than going through an indirect route which could take up to more than a day of traveling. The new service to the Gautam Buddha International Airport is a direct service to the gateway of Lumbini - the birthplace of Gautam Buddha.”

Rabi Chandra Singh - Chairman of Society International Travel Services, a part of the RR Group of companies, stated, “after 74 years of international flights based only in the Kathmandu, this service is going to make a huge difference in the western part of Nepal. This newly opened international flight service will help boost tourism of Bhairahawa which is one of the potential sectors for economic development in Nepal. Let's rejoice in this historic moment together.”

This is the second service operated by Jazeera Airways to Nepal which responds to high demand for travel to the Terai plains of Nepal. Flights to Gautam Buddha International Airport had commenced on May 15, 2022.

The airline that is expanding its services in the Middle East, Asia, and Europe, expressed its commitment to conducting regular commercial flights to and from the GBIA.

Speaking at a press conference organised by the company on Wednesday in the capital, vice president of Jazeera Ravindran Bharathan said that the newly launched service makes it a lot easier for Nepalis and tourists to get into the Terai area of Nepal rather than going through an indirect route which could take more than a day’s traveling.

"The new service to the GBIA in Bhairahawa is a direct service to the gateway of Lumbini - the birthplace of Gautam Buddha," he said.

This newly opened international flight service will help boost tourism of Bhairahawa which is one of the potential sectors for economic development in Nepal, he said.

However, the lack of infrastructure and facilities to issue labour permit from Butwal has affected the migrant workers going abroad.

"We are rerouting the passengers from Kathmandu to Bhairahawa which incurs additional cost of Rs. 75,000 a time," said Singh.

He maintained that rerouting could not be extended for more than a week. "This is the prestige of the country and opportunity for Bhairahawa and the region therefore the government and private sector must put their efforts to exploit this opportunity," he said.

As per the schedule published by the company, the flight services between Kuwait and Bhairahawa will be held three times – it will be conducted from Kuwait on Tuesday, Thursday and Sunday every week, and from Bhairahawa on Wednesday, Friday and Monday every week.

According to the company, Jazeera Airways flies to over 50 destinations across the Middle East, Central and South Asia, Africa and Europe comprising high-demand business, leisure and weekend destinations.