Bhutan airport/Paro international airport
#Paro International Airport
The Paro International Airport is the only international airport in Bhutan. It lies six kilometers from Paro town. It is a very small airport with only one runaway and terminal each. If you are planning to visit the cities in the west like Thimphu, Paro and Punakha and the central region, this would be a good choice for you to land. The Paro International Airport was constructed in 1968. There are only two airlines in Bhutan: Drukair or Royal Bhutan Airlines, which is the national carrier and Tashi Air or Bhutan Airlines. Druk air was founded in 1981, a decade after the Third King of Bhutan, His Majesty Jigme Dorji Wangchuck opened the doors of the kingdom to the outside world, freeing it from self-imposed isolation. The airline started operations in 1983 with flights from Kolkata to Paro utilizing Dornier Do 228 aircraft which was switched to BAe 146-100 in November 1988. To meet increasing need, these aircrafts were replaced in 2004 with two Airbus A319s. Currently, Drukair operates flights between Paro and 12 destinations in six
countries within the South Asian and Southeast Asian region. Drukair got a new ATR 42-600 on October 22, 2018. Meanwhile, the second airline known as Tashi Air or Bhutan Airlines was launched on December 4, 2011. Tashi Air acquired an Airbus A319 aircraft with a seating capacity of 122 passengers on May 1, 2014. It got a second Airbus A319 delivery on July 30, 2014. As of March 2020, Bhutan Airlines served flights between Paro, Jakar and Trashigang locally and Delhi, Kolkota, Kathmandu and Bangkok internationally.
#Gelephu Airport
Gelephu Airport is situated in Samtenling gewog of Gelephu in the south. It is three kilometers from the main town Gelephu located in the Sarpang district. Constructed in 2008, the airport was meant to be an international airport, but due to financial and logistical reasons it could not be. The airport, spanning 500 acres was inaugurated in October 2012 but regular scheduled flights were delayed till 2017 because of lack of certification from the Department of Civil Aviation of
Bhutan and also due to funding issues. Though the airport was originally planned as an international airport the plan was shelved in 2008. Regular flights eventually recommenced in November 2017 with financial support from the government. The airport hosts only one airline, Drukair, the national carrier which flies to and from Paro and Jakar.
#Bathpalathang Airport
Bathpalathang airport is located five kilometers from Jakar town. It was constructed in 2011. It is the newest airport in Bhutan and in the beginning had flights only to Paro. It got suspended in 2012 but was recently reopened for use. Both the airlines operate from here:
Bhutan Airlines flies to and from Thimpu/ Paro, and Drukair flies to Paro and Gelephu as well. Both the airlines also conducted inaugural flights to Bathpalathang on December 17, 2011. The airport suspended operations in July 2012 due to runway damage but since then, it has opened to a curtailed number of flights.
#Yongphula Airport
Yongphula Airport, constructed in 2010, lies 20km from the eastern district of Trashigang. It was originally constructed by the Indian army in the 1960s, had only one airstrip, and was mostly unused. Yongphula airport was inaugurated in December 2011 but it remained closed till January 2013 due to runaway repairs. In October 2013, it was once again closed due to lack of fire service cover and airstrip damages but it finally recommenced service in 2017. Yonghula airport
is currently in use. The airport is on its way to becoming an international airport. Both Drukair and Bhutan Airlines operate flights from Yongphula to Paro and Jakar.