Bhutan has only one international airport, in the beautiful city of Paro. There are two national flag airlines, government-owned Druk Air and Bhutan Airlines. Druk Air has offices in Paro and Thimpu, Jakar and Gelephu, and a private airline Bhutan Airlines, a division of Tashi Air, with an office in Thimphu.
The flight schedules change by season due to weather conditions, but usually, there are several flights every week from Kathmandu, New Delhi, Singapore, and Bangkok. Some flights are direct and some are transit via Dhaka, Kolkata, or Bagdogra, depending on the day of travel. There are some flights to Guhawati and Ahmedabad also. During the occasion of the festival, Thimphu Tsechu (dance festival) in October and the Paro Tsechu in April are available extra flights.
Only Druk Air and Bhutan Airlines were operating international flights to Bhutan. There are only a few aircraft that can operate on a runway that is as short and high as Paro's. All landings and take-offs in Paro are by visual flight rules (VFR), which means that the pilot must be able to see the runway before landing and see the surrounding hills before take-off. It is not possible to operate flights at night time and in poor visibility, so when Paro Valley is clouded in, flights are delayed, sometimes for a few hours to some days. So, you need to put some contingency days, if in case the flight is delayed and you need to rebook your tour program everything.
We would like to advise you to reconfirm your flight before departure and also once in Paro, to ensure that the schedule has not changed. Departure at the airport earlier than your Check-in as they occasionally depart before the scheduled time, especially if the weather starts to change for the worse.
Flights are often delayed because of weather, so Nepal Mother House recommends you travel on no restricted tickets and allow at least 24 hours transit time with your connecting flight in order to minimize the complications of delays. It makes sense to budget a couple of days' sightseeing in Kathmandu or Bangkok.
Druk Air Offices Abroad
Druk Air Bangladesh
Druk Air India (Kolkata)
Druk Air India (New Delhi)
Druk Air India (Siliguri)
Druk Air Nepal
Druk Air Thailand
Druk Air Sales Agents Abroad
DNATA (Bangladesh)
Druk Asia (Singapore)
Global Union Transportation (Hong Kong)
Flights To & From Paro
Depart Arrive Frequency Cost (US$)
Paro Kathmandu 6 weekly 170
Paro Bangkok Daily 333
Paro Kolkata (Calcutta) Daily 180
Paro Bagdogra 2 weekly 95
Paro New Delhi 5 weekly 279
Paro Dhaka 2 weekly 180
Paro Singapore 2 weekly 435
Paro Guhawati 2 weekly 105
