Bhutan, the last Mahayana Buddhist kingdom and also the most exclusive and sought-after travel destinations, opened its doors to the outside world only four decades ago. A unique policy of ‘High value, low volume tourism’ upheld the nation’s vision of keeping its pristine environment, centuries old tradition and culture intact and alive.

In the ensuing decades, as more and more people grew intrigued with this tiny kingdom that put Gross National Happiness over Gross Domestic Product and embraced democracy as a gift from the monarchy itself, there was increasing pressure to open the doors wide. This posed a serious dilemma as the country was landlocked, straddling the eastern Himalayas.

There was the need to open up the skies. And so, the concept of a national airline was born on April 5, 1981. Drukair began operations on February 11, 1983, from Paro, a picturesque valley in western Bhutan, a 65 km drive away from the capital, Thimphu. At the time, Paro had a little airstrip servicing helicopter operations. Drukair began humbly with a 18-seat Dornier 228-200 that made its historic touch down at Paro airport on January 14, 1983, to the chant of inauguration prayers, cymbals, conches and the like, with maroon-clad monks blessing the occasion and the plane. The first link was Kolkata, followed by six destinations in South Asia, including Bangkok. As more and more people took to the skies, not just to connect but also to enjoy perhaps the most breath-taking view of the Himalayan range, including Mt. Everest, Mt. Kanchenjunga and the highest unclimbed mountains in Bhutan itself, another Dornier was added to meet the increasing demand.

Drukair upgraded its planes to the new BAe 146 on November 21, 1988, when the first plane touched down at Paro with the same traditional fanfare. The airline was now going regional with linkages to New Delhi, Kathmandu and Bangkok. All the pilots and maintenance crew were trained at the best institutes abroad while the flight attendants were trained by Thai Airways.

A few years later, the runway at Paro airport was extended to 2,000 meters and reinforced to accommodate heavier aircraft. A second BAe 146 became part of the evolution of Drukair. Today, the fleet has been further upgraded to two Airbus 319s operating six international destinations. Drukair is now a professional corporate entity under the aegis of the Druk Holdings Investment of the royal government. The hallmark of Drukair is safety first and the best of comforts therein for travelers. As the nation opens up more to tourism and gradually steps into the global village, Drukair leaves no stone unturned in ensuring that every passenger, for most of whom the first glimpse of Bhutan is aboard on Drukair, gets the best impression of Bhutan. That is considered a sacred responsibility for Drukair.

Note:
Schedules are subject to change without notice.
All timings are shown in local times.
33% discount will be allowed for the child (below 12 yrs) in normal fare [not in Fuel Surcharge (FSC).
90% the discount will be allowed for the infant (below 24 months) in normal fare [not in Fuel Surcharge (FSC).

Cancellation Policy

• 10% will be charged for cancellation of bookings before 11hrs from flight time.
• 33.3% will be charged for for cancellation for booking within 11 hrs from flight time.
• Rescheduling can be done 11 hrs before flight time.

Passenger will be treated as a No Show for not reporting within the reporting time and company shall not be liable to refund the tickets. Reporting time is 1 hr before the departure time, passengers will not be able to embark at the check-in counter 20 minutes before the given departure time.