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Paro airport expansion proposal June 2008
DA cuts flights due to fuel hike June 2008
International arrivals May 2008
Flying against the wind March 2008
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26 June 2008
Paro airport expansion proposal
Paro airport could see separate arrival and departure terminal buildings, a broadened runway, modern landing lights, bigger maintenance area, and separate access roads, according to a new proposal plan.

"Our airport is reaching close to its capacity and this plan will ensure that we can handle the increasing number of visitors to our country up to 2030," said the deputy director of civil aviation, Karma Wangchuk. By 2030 there could be around a million annual visitors on the higher level and around half of that at a medium level, according to a DCA growth scenario.

"Even in the next five years, our tourism sector is targetting an additional 100,000 tourists, which will need more infrastructure," said Karma Wangchuk.

The plan has been divided in terms of priority and size into short term, medium term and long term. In the short term, the arrival hall will see some offices giving space to a broader arrival hall with an additional conveyor belt. Turn pads will also be built on the runway to allow planes to turn around naturally without having to rotate on their front wheels. "This rotation shortens the life of the tyres and also damages the tarmac," said Karma Wangchuk.

New lights will also be installed along the runway, allowing pilots to better gauge the altitude while landing. Work on relocating the RBA and Indian Air force quarters to a more suitable location near the airport will also start, along with river protection works, according to civil aviation officials.

"The medium term plan will consist of shutting down the present road to the airport and opening up a separate route along the river," said Karma Wangchuk. He also said that there would be new parking spaces, a new maintenance area, and relocation of the cargo terminal.

The long-term plan will be building a new terminal building, which will mean that the current terminal will be for departures while the new terminal will be for arrivals. The new terminal will also house the arrival and departure section for domestic flights within the country. "Both terminals will be connected allowing tourists and visitors to even take interconnecting flights and avoid other formalities," said Karma Wangchuk. The runway will be significantly widened on either side, which will meet Airbus airplane specifications, and separate parking areas will be designated for the two terminals. The apron will also be extended, allowing more parking area for more planes.

By Tenzing Lamsang, KUENSEL, Bhutan's National Newspaper 2008

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20 June 2008
Druk Air cuts flights due to fuel hike

Druk Air, the national airline, has temporarily slashed its flight frequency on several routes to deal with the 25 percent average hike for the year 2007-08 in aviation turbine fuel prices and the lean tourist season.

Flights to Bangkok have been reduced to six from eight flights a week, with the Friday flight via Kolkata and the Saturday flight via Dhaka gone to the chopping block.

The four flights a week on five routes from Paro to Dhaka, Delhi, Gaya, Katmandu and Kolkata, have been cut by a flight each.

It is also timely for the national airline as passenger numbers drop in July, August and September, the lean season for tourists visiting Bhutan

Source: KUENSEL, Bhutan's National Newspaper 2008

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26 May 2008
Druk Air: International arrivals

The number of international arrivals reached 21,094 in 2007, marking an increase of about 21.6 percent over 2006. The projection of arrivals for 2008 is expected to increase to 25,000 according to TCB.

Source: KUENSEL, Bhutan's National Newspaper 2008
on board a Drukair flight: Kangchenzonga

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29 March 2008
Flying against the wind

Paro-Kathmandu-Delhi flights are exposed to strong seasonal wind conditions during morning time within the March to mid-May flight season. It was found that pilots had difficulty in controlling the aircraft while in the air and also while landing due to strong winds. During winters and mid-summer, the wind is stable.

Pilots also say that, even if the ground wind conditions are normal, they will have to contend with high speed jet stream winds at high altitudes common in the spring season.

Most Drukair flights are landing in Paro by 5 pm when there's usually no wind.

Druk Air is in the process of trying to modify it's new flight schedules. This will mean making major or minor changes to 30 flights from March till 15 May 2008 of which 24 are for the Delhi - KTM - Paro (and back) sector and six for Paro - Kolkata - Bangkok (and back). A request for changes on the Delhi-Paro sector was recently sent to the Director General of Civil Aviation in Delhi.

The twin Drukair A319 planes has around 27,000 pounds (12,247 kg or kp = 120,145 N) of power to deal with at Paro Airport, as compared to A-320, a bigger aircraft, which has only has 22,500 pounds (10,206 kg or kp = 100,121 N).

Source: KUENSEL, Bhutan's National Newspaper 2008
on board a Drukair flight: Makalu
Paro International Airport
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