Kathmandu (RSS) — Jazeera Airlines will be the airline’s company to make the debut international flight to the newly opened Gautam Buddha International Airport in Bhairahawa.

The airport came into operation on Thursday. Jazeera Air will fly to Bhairahawa a narrow-body aircraft with a capacity of 278 passengers from Kuwait on the day of Buddha Jayanti on May 16, according to the Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal (CAAN).

It will return the next day with passengers from Nepal to Kuwait. The airlines will then fly regularly to Bhairahawa three days a week on Monday, Wednesday and Friday.

General Manager of the international airport, Govinda Dahal, said, for now, the international flights are now scheduled for the night to manage the air traffic jam due caused by only one runway.    

Director-General of CAAN Pradip Kumar Adhikari said that the landing at Gautam Buddha International Airport in Bhairahawa is expected to be smooth as there is a 3,500-meter long runway that can accommodate five international flights at a time.

Air traffic at the Tribhuvan International Airport in Kathmandu is expected to decrease with the operation of the new international airport in Bhairahawa.