The airport was opened as a domestic airport called
Bhairahawa Airport providing flights to
Kathmandu in 1958 and has since been operated by the
Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal. In 1985, the airport was one of the target of the
Nepal bombings. In 1977, the airport was renamed
Gautam Buddha Airport in honor of
Gautam Buddha, who was born in the neighboring village of Lumbini.
Expansion to international airport First plans to develop the then domestic airport into Nepal's second
international airport were developed in 2013 with the aim of operating the upgraded airport by 2017, in order to relieve the congested
Tribhuvan International Airport. The project was financed by a loan and grant aid from the
Asian Development Bank. The contract to upgrade the airport was awarded to the Chinese company Northwest Civil Aviation Airport Construction Group in October 2014. In January 2015,
prime minister Sushil Koirala laid the foundation stone of the new airport with the aim of beginning operations at the airport by December 2017. It was planned to have a runway and sixteen international parking bays. In 2017, the upgrade was delayed for more than six months and the deadline for the completion was extended to 2019 due to the
2015 Nepal earthquake and the
2015 Nepal blockade. In July 2019, the project's deadline was extended and the expansion was expected to be completed by December 2019. Due to the
COVID-19 pandemic in Nepal, the opening of the airport was postponed again in July 2020 to March 2021. In June 2021, the opening was again postponed until early 2022, as final tests could not take place during
monsoon season. In late 2021, the calibration flights were postponed due to the
COVID-19 pandemic in Nepal, resulting in further postponement of the opening of the airport. These flights took place in February 2022. On 30 January 2022, the official opening date was set to
Buddha Jayanti on 26 May 2022. In March 2022, it was announced that
Jazeera Airways would be the first international airline to serve the airport. On 21 April 2022, the newly built 3,000 m
runway was opened while the old one was put into use as a taxiway. The airport was officially opened with the arrival of the first international flight by
Jazeera Airways on 16 May 2022. As of November 2022, only one international carrier served the airport. The
Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal (CAAN) forced any airline operating more than three flights a day from Nepal's other international airport,
Tribhuvan International Airport to also operate from Gautam Buddha Airport. This sparked a controversy, as CAAN canceled flights by
Nepal Airlines as the airline did not comply with this ruling. By the end of 2022, there were no international flights, as all carriers suspended their services due to the low visibility due to the winter weather. ==Facilities==