In 1968, the
Indian Border Roads Organisation built an
airstrip in the
Paro valley, which was initially used for on-call
helicopter operations by the
Indian Armed Forces for the
Royal Government of Bhutan. After consideration by King
Jigme Singye Wangchuck and the
Tshogdu, Drukair was established by
royal charter on 5 April 1981, ten years after the
Druk Gyalpo, King Jigme Dorji Wangchuck gradually began to open up the Kingdom from
self-imposed isolation, and seven years after welcoming its first foreign visitors. Paro Airport is located deep in a valley
above sea level, and is surrounded by
mountains as high as . At the time, the
runway was in length, Before the establishment of the
Department of Civil Aviation in January 1986, the airline was responsible for the operation and maintenance of airport infrastructure. The airline commenced flights to
Dhaka in
Bangladesh on 30 October 1986.
Jet era at
Paro Airport in 2005 On 30 December 1987, a
US$25 million order was placed with
British Aerospace for a
BAe 146-100 STOL regional jet. The purchase of the aircraft was financed by the government, obtaining, for the first time in the country's history, a
commercial loan. In 1990, the runway at Paro Airport was lengthened from to and reinforced for heavier aircraft. A
hangar was also constructed for the aircraft, which was funded by the Indian government as part of the Paro Airport Development Project. From
Japan, the King then travelled to
Malé in the
Maldives for the
South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation summit between 21 and 23 November, and returned to Bhutan in order for the aircraft to re-enter service with the airline on 25 November. and
Paro can see
Mount Everest. During 2000–2001, Drukair could operate with only one single aircraft for over a year due to a
corrosion defect in its A5-RGD aircraft in the wing tanks that was detected during a check at
Woodford. The wings were replaced. In 2002, an RJ70 was wet-leased from
airBaltic to cover for maintenance to A5-RGE. Drukair became the launch customer for the
Avro RJX-85 in April 2000 when it placed an order with
BAE Systems for two aircraft, with deliveries initially scheduled to take place in November 2001 and January 2002. Delays in the first flight and
certification of the RJX pushed back expected delivery to Drukair to after April 2002. BAe Systems cancelled the RJX program in November 2002, due to receiving orders from only two airlines, however, the airline was advised by Bombardier the aircraft would be unsuited for operations at Paro. In February 2002, the Airbus A319 became the largest aircraft to ever land at Paro Airport, when Airbus demonstrated the aircraft to the airline. By October, Boeing had withdrawn from the competition due to not being able to source an aircraft to demonstrate to the airline. With the
Embraer E-190 yet to fly, it was expected that Drukair would order the A319. However, the government had concerns regarding financing for the purchase, and in October the final decision was delayed. After a short period of time, the government instructed management to begin evaluations once again, Airbus signed a
memorandum of understanding with Drukair in July 2003 for two 114-seat
Airbus A319-115, powered by two
CFM56-5B engines, for delivery in the second half of 2004.
Bodh Gaya, from Gaya, is the site of the
Mahabodhi Temple where
Siddhārtha Gautama, the
Buddha, reached
enlightenment, and 30,000–40,000 Bhutanese make the
pilgrimage every year.
Pilgrims have previously made the pilgrimage to Bodh Gaya via a 2–3-day overland trip from the Bhutanese border town of
Phuntsholing, and Drukair management plans on acquiring 20–30% of this traffic, The following month, as a result of
Royal Bhutan Army efforts to expel from Bhutan territory Indian
separatist insurgent groups, notably the
United Liberation Front of Asom and the
National Democratic Front of Bodoland, flights to
Dhaka were suspended from 29 December in order to prevent insurgents from using Drukair flights to escape to alleged hideouts in Bangladesh.
Airbus era at
Paro Airport The first Airbus A319 arrived in Bhutan on 19 October 2004, the date chosen after a Buddhist
astrologer was consulted to ensure the aircraft arrived in Bhutan on an
auspicious day in the
Buddhist calendar. Before entering service on commercial flights on 31 October 2004, Drukair took their A319 on a country-wide flight in honour of the ascension of
Crown Prince Jigme Khesar Namgyel Wangchuck to the
Chhoetse Penlop. On 31 August 2012, Druk Air took delivery of a third Airbus A319. In July 2005, the governments of India and Bhutan signed a new
bilateral air services agreement which increased the allowable number of weekly flights between the two countries from 12 to 49. In addition to destinations already served by Drukair, the cities of
Mumbai,
Chennai and
Guwahati were included in their services agreement, with Bhutan being granted
fifth freedom rights from several Indian cities to onward destinations such as
Yangon,
Dhaka and
Singapore. Domestic
helicopter service was inaugurated in November 2005, in line with a
resolution by the Council of Ministers in April 2001 which stated that domestic services should be introduced. Thirty
heliports across the country were identified, and the introduction of services saw, for example, the trip from
Thimphu to
Trashigang taking only one hour, instead of two to three days. The
Eurocopter Ecureuil helicopter operated by the
Nepalese operator,
Air Dynasty, had by January 2006 seen 30 hours of service, netting Drukair
US$3,000 in profits. and the airline was given rights to fly to
Chittagong and
Cox's Bazar by the Bangladeshi authorities. The airline announced plans in July 2007 to start scheduled flights to Mumbai via
Kathmandu from March 2008, inline with the
strategy of Drukair management to increase the number of Indian
tourists travelling to Bhutan during the low season months of June through August and November through February. These plans were put on hold in March 2008, due to Paro Airport not being able to handle night flights and the airline only being able to secure
landing slots at Mumbai's
Chhatrapati Shivaji International Airport at 3 am. The two BAe 146 aircraft were sold to
Star Perú in October 2007 for US$3.3 million, and left Bhutan for
Peru in November and December 2007. and
BAe 146 at
Paro Airport in 2005 Druk Gyalpo
Jigme Khesar Namgyel Wangchuck on 11 November 2007 issued a
Royal Kasho establishing Druk Holding and Investments Limited, a
holding company which would manage existing and future investments of the Royal Bhutanese government. As a result, seven
government-owned companies, including Drukair, had their ownership transferred from the
Ministry of Finance to the newly formed holding company. Incorporated on 13 November 2007, Druk Holding and Investments announced in December 2007 that given Bhutan's tourism industry being reliant on Drukair, the head of the government agency overseeing tourism development in Bhutan would become the
chairperson of Drukair, and would be responsible for improving the performance of the national airline. In March 2008, Drukair introduced a new uniform for its
flight attendants, consisting of a contemporary
kira and tego. The uniforms were introduced for the
centenary celebrations of the monarchy, as well as the airlines own
silver jubilee. The uniform was chosen by way of a competition in which five Bhutanese
fashion designers submitted entries, with the winner receiving a BTN 75,000 prize. Although the government of Bhutan goes to great lengths to prevent outside influences from intruding on
Bhutanese culture, Drukair is not immune to problems which affect the
airline industry and the
world community at large. In June 2008, citing
hikes in the price of oil and the need to contain
operational costs, the airline reduced
frequencies across its network and announced an increase in
airfares to offset the increased costs, whilst taking advantage of the lower cost of
jet fuel at Delhi, Kolkata and Bangkok airports. Due to its small network which is reliant on
fifth-freedom rights, The airline was due to begin flights on 20 April 2009 to
Bagdogra Airport in India, but had to delay the inaugural flight due to the lack of immigration and
customs facilities at the airport. The inaugural flight to Bagdogra Airport left Paro Airport on 18 June 2009, making Drukair the first international airline to operate into the airport. In Bagdogra, a ceremony was held which was attended by
S. M. Krishna, the
Indian Minister for External Affairs, and
Lyonpo Ugyen Tshering, the
Bhutanese Minister of Foreign Affairs. ==Contemporary developments==