Geographic coordinates of Paro airport.
The latitude at which the airport is located: 27.400000000000, in turn, the longitude of the airport corresponds to: 89.420000000000. Geographical coordinates latitude and longitude determine the position of the airport on the earth's surface. To completely determine the position of the airport in three-dimensional space, a third coordinate is also needed - height. The height of the airport above sea level is 2235 meters. The airport is located in the time zone: +5.5 GMT. Airplane tickets always indicate local time airport departures and arrivals according to time zones.Kingdom of Bhutan
Bhutan's Paro Airport is considered the most difficult airport for pilots in the world. This is the only airport in the Himalayan kingdom that has international status and an asphalt runway almost 2 kilometers long. The entire territory of Bhutan lies in the mountains, between 170 and 7000 meters above sea level. It is clear that finding a straight and long strip of land for the construction of a runway in such an area was not so easy. The airport is located in a gorge, at an altitude of 2237 meters above sea level. The gorge is surrounded by mountains approximately 5.5 kilometers high, so in order to take off or land at this airport, special pilot skill is required, as well as ideal visibility.
Paro Airport
Paro Airport is one of two airports in the Kingdom of Bhutan. Located six kilometers from the city of Paro at an altitude of more than two thousand meters in the narrow valley of the Paro River, the airport is surrounded by five-thousand-meter peaks, therefore it is considered one of the most difficult on the planet, and only eight pilots in the world certified to perform landings in it.
Paro Airport (ICAO: VQPR) is the only asphalt airport in Bhutan
If tourist tours While there are a lot of flights, only a few planes land at Paro airport. When a plane lands over runway No. 33, it must first go around the mountain and begin landing at an altitude of literally several tens of meters. The glide path passing low above the ground leads into a hole between the mountains. They say that when landing, the pilot may encounter local residents eyes.
First, it flies perpendicular to the takeoff from right to left behind the first right “hill,” then it turns sharply and flies out from behind the left “slope” with a roll to the right in order to land in time:
Lifting a plane is also difficult, especially psychologically: in front of the pilot there is a continuous wall - a mountain, which is located directly ahead of runway. The pilot has to carefully maintain vertical speed, because even a small drawdown means death. At the same time, the rock on the right is only 150 meters away. Taking off, the plane gains altitude along the funnel until it exceeds the height of the mountain peaks:
The only one in the world aviation company, which operates flights to Paro Airport, is the national carrier of Bhutan - DrukAir. Two Airbus A319s with high-thrust A320 engines installed on them operate regular flights.
Pilots from DrukAir, which translates into English as DragonAir, fly with the door open:
A DrukAir airliner near the Paro airport terminal building:
In 2011, we visited with colleagues (host: Elena Tolstaya, cameramen: Alexander Beglaryan, Alexander Kiper and me 🙂) very interesting country– Kingdom of Bhutan. Some people don't even know about its existence. Therefore, a couple of lines to Cherkan...
This state is located in the Himalayas, between India and China. It is a constitutional monarchy. Of course, all power there belongs to the people, but the people, of course, are ruled by the king. So his subjects somehow got together, chatted and decided to invite us to visit, so that we, the first official delegation from Russia, would tell you about this wonderful miracle - tiny Bhutan. About him amazing nature, original culture, unique traditions, amazing social structure.
Actually, the main concern of the authorities is to make their fellow citizens happy. This is done by a special Ministry of Happiness. Its employees day and night improve the standard of living and improve its quality. All changes are measured by special measures, the main one of which is gross national happiness, known in our world as the gross national product...
Bhutan is generally so unique that it requires many separate posts. Therefore, to begin with, I will briefly tell you about one of the main attractions - the legendary Paro airport. It has long been and deservedly called most dangerous airport in the world. But it is through these air gate you can go to Bhutan. Or, as the locals call it, Druk Yul - Land of the Thunder Dragon...
Paro Airport, Bhutan. — Photo: A. Beglaryan ©
Paro Airport is the largest in Bhutan and the only international one. Opened in 1983. Located 6 km. from Paro town, and 55 km. from the capital of the country, Thimphu. Located at a height 2,237 meters, in a narrow mountain valley, on the banks of the Paro river of the same name. The airport is surrounded on all sides by the sharp peaks of the Himalayas, up to 5,500 meters high. Only eight pilots (crews of the national airline of Bhutan Druk Air) in the world have permission to take off and land at this airport.
Climbing and descending maneuvers are very similar to a roller coaster at speed 400 km/h. Imagine that along a narrow winding path between tall mountains you need to fly like a bullet, fitting into every bend and turn at an altitude of four thousand meters. You can piss yourself from what you see outside the window and from the sensations in the chair. You can do it right in your chair. Sorry for the poverty and simplicity of speech.
IATA code - PBH (in our native Sheremetyevo), the check-in employee spent a long time rummaging through the computer, looking for this very IATA code, found it, tried to check in our luggage to Paro, but could not do it and issued the following phrase: Your suitcases are flying to DelEy (emphasis on “E” instead of DELI), and you – where you need to go...).
The airport operator is a state company Druk Air Corporation Ltd. Specifications airport: working runway length – 1985 meters(including end safety strips – 2270 meters), width - 30 meters, covering – asphalt. This runway is one of the few in the world that is shorter than its height above sea level. There are also four taxiways, each 15 meters wide.
The airport complex includes: a control room with a control tower, a passenger terminal, a royal terminal (a terminal for officials and delegations), a cargo terminal and two hangars, each of which can accommodate a 25-meter aircraft. Special airfield equipment is parked on the apron.
Climatic conditions and difficult terrain make the airport difficult to operate: due to constant winds, takeoffs and landings are carried out mainly in one direction - the south. There is severe turbulence during ascent and descent in any weather. The airport does not have lighting equipment and operates only during daylight hours - according to actual sunrise and sunset. Pilots use a visual approach chart.
Paro Airport, Bhutan. — Photo: D. Skorobutov ©
The passenger terminal, like all other buildings in Bhutan, is built in the national style, and includes: 4 check-in counters, 1 boarding gate, 1 baggage belt, inspection points, border, customs and veterinary control, currency exchange, post office, restaurant, VIP lounge, souvenir and duty free shops. There is a parking lot and two small hotels. The airport's passenger turnover in 2012 was just over 30 thousand people.
Paro Airport, Bhutan. — Photo: D. Skorobutov ©
In fact, the only airline using the airport is Druk Air – Royal Bhutan Airlines or Royal Bhutan Airlines. Only its aircraft are authorized to operate international flights to Bhutan. This is partly due to the peculiarities of the airport - the extreme complexity of takeoffs and landings. The airline's fleet consists of four aircraft: three Airbus A-319 (leasing) and one ATR 42-500 (ownership). Layout of the A-319: 20 business class seats and 94 economy class, ATR 42-500 – 48 economy class seats.
Airbus companies Druk Air differ from similar machines - these ones are equipped with more powerful engines from the Airbus A-320. Thus, with less mass, Bhutanese A-319s have a high thrust-to-weight ratio, which allows them to take off from a short runway when fully loaded. When landing at Paro airport, reverse is used almost until the plane comes to a complete stop. As a rule, flights are not 100% loaded, and the planes are centered in a special way: passengers in economy are seated two people per row of three seats. Baggage restrictions: in economy – 20 kg, in business - 30 kg, but hand luggage ( 5 kg) will be included in these 20 or 30 kg.
Airbus A-319, Paro Airport, Bhutan. — Photo: D. Skorobutov ©
In the route network Druk Air 13 destinations: local– Bumthang, Gelephu and Yongphulla; international– Dhaka (Bangladesh), Bagdogra, Gaya, Guwahati, Delhi, Kolkata and Mumbai (India), Kathmandu (Nepal), Bangkok (Thailand), Singapore. Almost all flights are operated with intermediate stops. Optimal connections for flights to Bhutan from Moscow via Bangkok, from where Druk Air flies daily to Paro. The best prices are via Delhi, but extremely inconvenient in terms of time.
And small, but important feature: Druk Air does not guarantee flights operate on schedule, since arrival and departure times depend on the weather conditions of Paro airport. The carrier officially warns about this on the website. Be careful.
Airbus A-319, Paro Airport, Bhutan. — Photo: D. Skorobutov ©
On international flights Druk Air offers two classes of service: business and economy. We were flying in business and we were served by girls like these. The new uniform appeared in 2008. They decided to update the image of the flight attendants in honor of the airline’s 25th anniversary and on the occasion of the coronation of the fifth King of Bhutan. The costume is a variant of national women's clothing: a long skirt kira and a shirt that. Both items of clothing are made of cotton and silk. The Bhutanese followed the same path as the Malays and Singaporeans: a flight attendant in national costume decided to make it a symbol of the country.
Flight attendants of Druk Air. — Photo: D. Skorobutov ©
The girls admitted that the profession of a flight attendant is very popular in Bhutan. International flights are perhaps the only opportunity to see the world, even if this world consists of several neighboring countries. There are few flight attendants in Bhutan and the Bhutanese, naturally, know each of them by sight. There are also male flight attendants. But there are only a few of them. On any international flight, the cabin crew consists of three flight attendants: two girls and a young man.
Our flight, initially announced as Paro - Delhi, turned out to be three times longer: while taxiing, the commander said that we were flying to the capital of Nepal - Kathmandu, and on the Kathmandu - Delhi segment, we learned that there would be another landing in Jaipur. Route taxi. At the same time, they fed him once. But delicious :)
Paro Airport is the only international Airport Bhutan, located 6 km south of the central part of the city of Paro in the valley of the river of the same name. The airport is also the only airport in Bhutan that has a paved runway - the second Bhutanese airport, Yongphulla Airport, has a unpaved runway.
Paro Airport is the base airport and main transit hub for national flag carrier Druk Air and Bhutan Airlines. Paro Airport is regularly used by several international airlines to operate their cargo and passenger flights.
Passenger terminal of Paro airport
Paro Airport has one passenger terminal. The airport terminal building houses various retail outlets, shops, restaurants, bars and cafes.
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What can you take on a plane?
Carry-on luggage is the items you will take with you into the cabin. Weight norm hand luggage can vary from 5 to 10 kg, and its size most often should not exceed the sum of three dimensions (length, width and height) from 115 to 203 cm (depending on the airline). A handbag is not considered hand luggage and is carried freely.
The bag you take with you on the plane should not contain knives, scissors, medicines, aerosols, or cosmetics. Alcohol from duty free stores can only be transported in sealed bags.
How to pay for luggage at the airport
If the weight of luggage exceeds the standards established by the airline (most often 20-23 kg), you need to pay for each kilogram of excess. In addition, many Russian and foreign airlines, as well as low-cost airlines, have tariffs that do not include free baggage allowance and must be paid separately as an additional service.
In this case, luggage must be checked in at the airport at a separate Drop-off check-in counter. If you are unable to print boarding pass, you can get it at the regular airline check-in counter, and check in and drop off your luggage there.
Where to find out the arrival time if you are a greeter
You can find out the plane's arrival time on the airport's online board. The Tutu.ru website has an online display of the main Russian and foreign airports.
You can find out the exit number (gate) on the arrivals board at the airport. This number is located next to the incoming flight information.
What to do if your flight is canceled
If a flight is canceled more than 24 hours before departure, passengers will be transferred to similar airline flights. The carrier bears the costs; the service is free for the passenger. If you are not satisfied with any of the options offered by the airline, most airlines can issue an “involuntary return.” Once confirmed by the airline, the money will be returned to your account. Sometimes this can take several weeks.
How to check in at the airport
Online check-in is available on most airline websites. Most often it opens 23 hours before the start of the flight. You can go through it no later than 1 hour before the plane departs.
To check in at the airport you will need:
