Buddha Air Explained

Airline:	Buddha Air Nepali: बुद्ध एयर
Fleet Size:	17
Destinations:	12
Iata:	U4
Icao:	BHA
Callsign:	BUDDHA AIR
Aoc:	014/1996^[1]
Headquarters:	Jawalakhel, Lalitpur, Nepal
Key People:	Late Surendra Bahadur Basnet Birendra Bahadur Basnet Astha Basnet Thapa
Hubs:	Tribhuvan International Airport
Secondary Hubs:	Pokhara International Airport
Frequent Flyer:	Royal Club
Subsidiaries:	Buddha Holidays
Num Employees:	1600+^[2]

Buddha Air Pvt. Ltd (ne|बुद्ध एयर) is an airline based in Lalitpur, Nepal.^{[3] [4]} It operates domestic flights within Nepal as well as international services to Varanasi, India, from its main base in Tribhuvan International Airport, Kathmandu.^{[5] [6]} It was the largest domestic carrier in terms of passengers carried in 2023.^[7]

History

The airline was established on 23 April 1996 as a private limited company by Surendra Bahadur Basnet, a retired Supreme Court judge and former government minister; and his son, Birendra Bahadur Basnet.^{[8] [9]} The name of the airline is derived from the Sanskrit word Buddha, a title used for the much revered Siddhartha Gautama. Operations commenced on 11 October 1997 with a sightseeing flight to Mount Everest using a brand new Beechcraft 1900D.^[9] In 2001, the airline partnered with the Bhutanese flag carrier Drukair to charter flights during the peak tourist season.^[10] Within ten years, the company had expanded to a fleet of seven 1900Ds.^[11] In 2008, a loan from the International Finance Corporation allowed the company to expand further by purchasing two ATR 42 aircraft.^[12] Buddha Air took delivery of its first 72-seat ATR 72 in June 2010.^[13]

International operations

Buddha Air became the first international airline to operate charter flights to Paro Airport in Bhutan in August 2010.^[14]

In 2011, Buddha Air began international flights from Pokhara Airport to Chaudhary Charan Singh International Airport in Lucknow, India;^[15] however, these flights were discontinued soon after. The airline also announced plans to fly to New Delhi's Indira Gandhi International Airport in the future.^[16] Current international operations are limited to seasonal flights to Varanasi.^[17]

Destinations

Buddha Air flies to the following destinations as of August 2024.^{[18] [19] [20] [21]}

International
Country	City	IATA	ICAO	Airport	Notes
Bhutan	Paro	PBH	VQPR	Paro Airport
India	Guwahati	GAU	VEGT	Lokpriya Gopinath Bordoloi International Airport		^[22]
	Kolkata	CCU	VECC	Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose International Airport		^[23] ^[24]
	Lucknow	LKO	VILK	Chaudhary Charan Singh Airport		^[25]
	Varanasi	VNS	VEBN	Lal Bahadur Shastri International Airport
Domestic
Nepal	Kathmandu	KTM	VNKT	Tribhuvan International Airport
	Pokhara	PKR	VNPR	Pokhara International Airport
		PKR	VNPK	Pokhara Airport
	Bhadrapur	BDP	VNCG	Bhadrapur Airport
	Bhairahawa	BWA	VNBW	Gautam Buddha Airport
	Bharatpur	BHR	VNBP	Bharatpur Airport
	Biratnagar	BIR	VNVT	Biratnagar Airport
	Birendranagar	SKH	VNSK	Surkhet Airport		^[26]
	Dhangadhi	DHI	VNDH	Dhangadhi Airport
	Janakpur	JKR	VNJP	Janakpur Airport
	Jitpur Simara	SIF	VNSI	Simara Airport
	Nepalgunj	KEP	VNNG	Nepalgunj Airport
	Rajbiraj	RJB	VNRB	Rajbiraj Airport		^[27]
	Tumlingtar	TMI	VNTR	Tumlingtar Airport

Buddha Air also operates scheduled mountain sightseeing flights from Kathmandu to Mount Everest range and from Pokhara to the Annapurna Massif. The flights usually depart in the early morning hours and return to the respective airports one hour later.^{[28] [29]}

Fleet

Current fleet

Buddha Air's fleet consists of the following aircraft (as of August 2024).^{[30] [31] [32]} The airline plans to add three Airbus A320 aircraft.^[33]

Buddha Air fleet

Aircraft	In fleet	Passengers			Total seats
		C	Y	Total
ATR 42–300	1^[34]	—	47	47	47
ATR 72–500	15^[35]	—	72	72	1,050
Total	16				1,144

Former fleet

Buddha Air historic fleet

Aircraft	Introduced	Retired	Notes
Beechcraft 1900C	2003	2009	^[36]
Beechcraft 1900D	1998	2023	^[37]
ATR 42–300	2008	2024

Hangar

Buddha Air is the first airline in Nepal, and one of few in South Asia, to have a closed-door hangar facility. Built at a cost of US$2.5 million at the Tribhuvan International Airport, Buddha Air also provides aircraft maintenance facilities to other airlines, including the Bangladeshi airline Novoair which sends its ATR aircraft for maintenance at the hangar.^[38]

Buddha Air is constructing a hangar that will be able to accommodate aircraft up to the size of an Airbus A319 at Pokhara International Airport.^[39]

Accidents and incidents

• On 11 November 2003, a scheduled Buddha Air flight from Kathmandu enroute to Biratnagar mistakenly landed in Bhairahawa Airport, owing to the air traffic and a subsequent slip-up in communication in Kathmandu.^[40]
• On 25 September 2011, Buddha Air Flight 103 crashed while attempting to land at Tribhuvan International Airport after a sightseeing flight of the Mount Everest region. All 19 passengers and crew on board the Beechcraft 1900D died.^{[41] [42]} Out of the 19 passengers, 10 were Indian nationals, two were US nationals, one was Japanese and six were Nepalese. The crew of three were also Nepalese.
• On 18 December 2020, Buddha Air Flight 505, which took off from Tribhuvan International Airport enroute to Janakpur Airport landed in Pokhara Airport. According to the airline, there was a mix-up due to lapses in communication and failure to follow detailed standard operating procedures.^{[43] [44]}
• On 16 December 2021, Buddha Air Flight 360, which took off from Bharatpur Airport to Tribhuvan International Airport with 19 passengers and three crew on board, made an emergency landing at Bharatpur Airport when its left engine failed. Passengers were transferred to another flight and flown to Kathmandu.^[45]
• On 11 July 2024, Buddha Air Flight 805, an ATR 72-500 on a flight from Kathmandu, skidded off the runway as it landed at Gautam Buddha Airport. All 59 passengers and all four crew members were safely evacuated from the aircraft without injuries.^[46]

Trivia

In 2015, Buddha Air became the shirt sponsor of Biratnagar based football club Morang XI, who played in Nepal's highest football league, the Nepal National League.^[47]

External links

• • The Journey Of Buddha Air In Nepali Aviation

Notes and References

1. Web site: Civil Aviation Report 2017 . Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal . 1 October 2018 . https://web.archive.org/web/20180907044552/http://www.caanepal.gov.np/wp-content/uploads/2018/01/Final-Report-2017.pdf . 7 September 2018 . dead .
2. Web site: Company Profile 2018. Buddha Air. 1 April 2018.
3. "Domestic/International ." Buddha Air. Retrieved on 26 September 2011. "The company headquarters is located at Jawalakhel, Lalitpur"
4. "Contact Information ." Buddha Air. Retrieved on September 25, 2011. "Buddha Air Pvt. Ltd Pulchowk Rd Patan"
5. Web site: 15 October 2013 . My Business: Nepalese airline taking off . 21 April 2014 . BBC.
6. [Flight International]
7. Web site: Prasain . Sangam . Domestic air traffic soars, hits a record 4.46m flyers . The Kathmandu Post . 28 June 2023 . 24 February 2023.
8. Web site: Company Profile . Buddha Air . 7 May 2014.
9. Web site: History . Buddha Air . 7 May 2014 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20140508061645/http://www.buddhaair.com/content/history-introduction.html . 8 May 2014 .
10. Kuensel Highlights. Spur of the Momo. 8. 1. 4. Canadian Cooperation Office. December 2001. 22 July 2008. https://web.archive.org/web/20120227062059/http://www.cco.org.bt/newsletter/Spurmomo_dec2001.pdf. 27 February 2012.
11. . Seven . Buddha Yatra (Buddha Air Inflight Magazine) . Buddha Air . July 2007 . 7 May 2014 .
12. Seth . Minakshi . 18 July 2012 . IFC Loan to Buddha Air to Improve Air Travel Connectivity in Nepal . Kathmandu, Nepal . International Finance Corporation . 7 May 2014.
13. . Bigger Aircraft Better Comfort in Nepalese SKY . Buddha Air . 21 June 2010 . 7 May 2014 . https://web.archive.org/web/20140626105549/http://www.buddhaair.com/press . 26 June 2014 . dead .
14. http://www.bbs.com.bt/bbs/?p=838 Buddha Air in service
15. http://www.buddhaair.com/destination/ "Buddha Air Lucknow flight"
16. http://www.tourennepal.com/news.php?id=30 "Buddha Air plans to start Pokhara-New Delhi flight"
17. Web site: Flights from Kathmandu to Varanasi . 11 August 2024 . Buddha Air.
18. Web site: Flight Routes . 11 August 2024 . Buddha Air.
19. Web site: Domestic Flights Schedules. Buddha Air. 1 October 2018. https://web.archive.org/web/20190105122439/https://www.buddhaair.com/domestic-flight-nepal. 5 January 2019. dead.
20. Web site: Domestic Schedule . Buddha Air . 7 May 2014 . https://web.archive.org/web/20140209071157/http://www.buddhaair.com/schedule/domestic . 9 February 2014 . dead .
21. Web site: International Schedule . Buddha Air . 7 May 2014 . https://web.archive.org/web/20140209070338/http://www.buddhaair.com/schedule/international . 9 February 2014 . dead .
22. Web site: Buddha Air prepares to operate flights at its new international destination: Guwahati . Aviation Nepal . 19 April 2019 . 19 April 2019.
23. Web site: Buddha Air to launch budget flights to Kolkata.
24. Web site: High operating costs and few passengers force Buddha Air to cancel Kolkata flights. The Kathmandu Post. 26 November 2019.
25. Web site: Buddha Air set to start Lucknow service today . The Kathmandu Post . 1 October 2018 . 6 January 2011.
26. Web site: Buddha Air to resume Surkhet flights. 24 March 2018 . The Himalayan Times. 26 March 2018.
27. Web site: #HappyAlert . Buddha Air . 20 December 2019.
28. Web site: Pokhara Mountain Flight . Buddha Air . 1 October 2018.
29. http://www.worldairroutes.com/BuddhaYeti.html World Air Routes
30. Web site: Our Aircrafts . 11 August 2024 . Buddha Air.
31. Web site: Buddha Airlines brings new ATR aircraft . República . 29 April 2023.
32. Web site: Buddha Air Fleet Details and History . Planespotters.net . 20 March 2022.
33. Web site: Buddha Air settles on Airbus for int'l ops. ch-aviation. 31 August 2019.
34. News: १६ वर्षअघि बुद्धले ल्याएको त्यो जहाज, अब उड्ने छैन आकाशमा, यसरी गरिँदैछ बिदाई उडान. 10 Sep 2024 . bizmandu.com.
35. News: बुद्ध एयरले थप्यो १८औं एटीआर जहाज, साउन १ देखि सुर्खेत र धनगढीमा अतिरिक्त उडान. 28 June 2024 . bizmandu.com.
36. Web site: BUDDHA AIR – FLEET . Planelogger . 2 June 2020.
37. Web site: Buddha Air sells its 25-year old aircraft to Canadian company . MyRepublica . 23 January 2023 . 23 January 2023.
38. Web site: Pokhrel . Diwas . Maintenance facilities Agreement between Buddha Air and NovoAir at TIA, Nepal . Aviation Nepal . 7 October 2023 . 26 January 2016.
39. Web site: Buddha Air to build hangar in Pokhara . Aviation Nepal . 15 May 2019 . 15 May 2019.
40. Web site: Singh Khadka . Navin . Winging it . Nepali Times . 1 January 2021 . 14 November 2003.
41. http://nycaviation.com/2011/09/mount-everest-tour-plane-crashes-in-nepal/ "Mount Everest Tour Plane Crashes in Nepal."
42. https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-south-asia-15051112 "Nepal tourist plane crashes near Kathmandu killing 19"
43. Web site: Prasain. Sangam. 20 December 2020. How a Buddha Air plane flew the wrong way and landed 255 kilometres away. live. https://web.archive.org/web/20201220045225/https://kathmandupost.com/national/2020/12/20/how-a-buddha-air-plane-flew-the-wrong-way-and-landed-255-kilometres-away . 2020-12-20 . 24 December 2020. The Kathmandu Post.
44. Web site: Nepali airline Buddha Air flies passengers to the wrong airport . CNN . 24 December 2020 . 23 December 2020.
45. Web site: Buddha Air flight makes emergency landing in Bharatpur due to engine failure . The Himalayan Times. 17 January 2023 . 16 December 2021.
46. Web site: Plane with 59 passengers skids off runway in Nepal, no injuries reported . Times of India . 30 July 2024.
47. Web site: Nepal Police and Morang match end in draw . The Kathmandu Post . 12 March 2021.