International passenger numbers at Kathmandu’s Tribhuvan International Airport rose to a record level in 2023, surpassing the 2018 figures, a strong rebound in travel after the coronavirus pandemic and lockdowns.

The airport's busiest year was 2018 when it had 4.38 million passengers.

According to the airport's statistics, 4.54 million international air travellers passed through the country’s main gateway last year, up 30.18 percent from 2022.

The statistics show that last year saw 1.05 million additional passengers.

In terms of flight movement, Tribhuvan International Airport handled 31,460 take-offs and landings, up 29.40 percent compared to 2022.

The airport authority said that the rise in the number of tourists and Nepali migrant workers helped international airlines to see a record number of passengers.

The country welcomed over a million foreign tourists while an equal number of migrant workers and students left last year.

Nepal, on March 5, 2022, lifted all Covid-related restrictions that had been in place since 2020 following a steep drop in coronavirus cases.

Subsequently, on March 10, 2022, Nepal threw the door wide open to foreign tourists, removing all pre-arrival testing requirements for fully vaccinated travellers in a bid to recharge its moribund tourism industry.

“International passenger numbers have increased sharply after the end of the Covid pandemic,” said Subash Jha, spokesperson for the Tribhuvan International Airport.

“There has been a rise in the number of migrant workers and students going abroad,” he said. “Besides, the country’s tourism market recovery has increased the overall passenger traffic movement.”

A breakdown by airlines shows that Nepal Airlines tops the list in terms of passenger volume. The national flag carrier flew 645,166 passengers in 2023, up 11.68 percent year-on-year.

Even then the national flag carrier is still a long way from its pre-Covid passenger number of 735,835 recorded in 2019.

The statistics show that Nepal Airlines made 3,780 flights last year.

The carrier operates in 10 international destinations—New Delhi, Mumbai, Bangalore, Bangkok, Hong Kong, Kuala Lumpur, Doha, Dubai, Narita and Dammam—with its two Airbus A330 and two Airbus A320 jets.

Doha-based Qatar Airways took the second spot in passenger carriage in 2023. It flew 627,081 travellers last year, up 1.08 percent year-on-year. In 2022, it served 620,367 passengers.

Nepal-Tibet joint venture Himalaya Airlines saw the number of passengers increase to 462,764, up 20.27 percent from 2022.

Indian low-cost airline IndiGo saw robust growth in terms of passenger carriage. The carrier received 449,992 passengers last year, up 107.78 percent.

Dubai-based low-cost carrier FlyDubai saw its passenger volume increase by 4.25 percent last year, as compared to 2022 data. The airline flew 368,739 travellers in 2023.

Tata Group-owned Air India saw its passenger carriage increase by 135.33 percent. The airline flew 356,694 passengers in 2023. The Tata Group bought Air India on October 8, 2021.

Tata Sons acquired a 100 percent stake in the loss-making Air India on January 27, 2022, through its fully-owned subsidiary, Talace Private Limited. Later, it announced that Air India and Vistara would be merged into one entity, which is estimated to be completed by March this year.

Another low-cost carrier Air Arabia flew 167,427 passengers last year, down 2.88 percent compared to 2022.

Vistara Air, a joint venture of Tata Sons and Singapore Airlines, saw its year-on-year passenger grow by 54.51 percent in 2023. It flew 155,439. The carrier started Kathmandu service in February 2020.

Kuala Lumpur-based Malaysia Airlines flew 119,929 passengers last year, up 21.38 percent year-on-year.

Kuwait-based Jazeera Airways, which operated its maiden flight in Kathmandu in November 2019, flew 119,695 travellers in 2023, down 4.92 percent from 2022.