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We reached Kolkata one day before and had a restful sleep. We went to the airport early ,checked in and asked for window side seats on left side as that would be the best place to view the mighty Himalayas. As seats are allocated on a first come first served basis it is advisable to go early and book these precious seats.
While checking in I noticed that we were the only senior people, all the others were either big family groups or newly married couples with the girls with mehendi still fresh on the hands and feet , dozens of glass bangles on their hands and their husbands protectively guarding their new wives with hands around their shoulders !
After checking in our luggage we went exploring around the airport which had quaint shops and window displays .
We sauntered to our gate and waited for boarding call .We could see the Bhutan airlines flight getting loaded up with luggage and food
Once called in we entered the flight ,though it was a small one we found that the seats were comfortable ,with enough leg space and push back facility.
There were in flight magazines with lot of information about the country.
In no time refreshments were served ,fresh and wholesome sandwiches ,fruit bread ,pea nuts and orange juice .
Time passed very quickly ,I was excited and waiting for the Himalayas to appear ,lo behold! there was an announcement from our pilot that we could start seeing the Himalayan mountain ranges on the left side, I nudged awake my husband who was happily dozing to stay awake and have a look at them
As the seat belt sign was off, lot of kids tried to crowd onto the left side only to be gently hushed away by the air hostess
It was surely a thrilling experience to see the 18,000 foot peaks of the serene Himalayas playing hide and seek with the white fluffy clouds, indeed my husband always appreciates my vivid imagination and child like enthusiasm to appreciate even the most mundane things .
A few minutes later our pilot announced that the mighty Mount Everest would now be seen on our left side ,yes there it was ! majestic and mysterious ,I thanked God for giving me this opportunity to at least see it from far ,as I knew I can never climb it.
Paro Airport is sole international airport of the four airports in the kingdom of bhutan. It is 6 km from Paro in a deep valley on the bank of river Paro Chhu. With surrounding peaks as high as 18,000 ft, it is considered one of the world's most challenging and only a select number of pilots are certified to land at the airport and to my utter delight I came to know one was a woman pilot.
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 on behalf of the Royal Government of Bhutan. Bhutan's first airline, Drukair, was established by Royal Charter on 5th April 1981.
At 6,500 feet long, the runway at Paro is actually shorter than its elevation. Besides the danger of flying through some of the world’s tallest peaks, the runway is carved out of the mountain foliage, and pilots must also account for vicious winds that sweep through the valley.
The landing and taking off is from both directions of the airports only runway
The airport is served by several airlines such as Druk Air and Bhutan Airlines. Druk Air has flights operating to several domestic and international locations such as Bagdogra, Delhi, Guwahati, Gaya, Kolkata, Mumbai, Dhaka, Bangkok, Gelephu, Jakarta, Kathmandu, and Singapore. Bhutan Airlines has carriers to Delhi, Kolkata, Kathmandu, and Bangkok.
The last part of flight before landing at Paro took us through deep green Valleys through which aircraft took couple of turns with hills on both sides, throughout this part of flight I held my breath only releasing it when we landed safely as I was tensed up anticipating that the plane would crash into the hills or trees ,some times I could see right into the houses nearby.
Visual flight rules call for the pilots to use their own judgement to maneuver the aircraft while landing and taking off .Since the decision is taken based on their knowledge of the terrain and landmarks in the valley, coupled with quality of visibility , needs an absolute clarity in the weather for a safe flight.
While landing, the pilots hand-fly the plane with their local knowledge, navigating it mindful of the electric poles, roofs of the homes, trees, hill-sides etc. It is almost like the aircraft is being flown in the alleys.
Paro Airport is very interesting , with just 6-8 flights arriving at the airport daily , each flight is received with much care, the entire airport staff being activated to serve the plane in every aspect from immigration customs, security to baggage handlers
As we landed and got down I found that all of us were crazily clicking snaps of the flight, scenery around us and the hundreds of custom Bhutan buildings with largely wooden based architecture. Bhutanese ramp workers greeted us and obligingly took a snap of us both
Paro Airport is an exquisite place for architecture and is a place to be treasured.
Externally and internally the airport had Bhutanese in its design and feel, and was a beautiful place full of beautiful things.
Going through immigration was a pleasure and not the usual painful challenge normally experienced by us. The processing at the immigration counter was quite straight forward, we needed just our passports as our visas were already verified at the Kolkata airport where we boarded Bhutan Air Line flight. The immigration officers spoke excellent English and were quite polite.
There were two terminals! The original 1999 terminal was joined by the newer slightly larger terminal that opened Mar 18, 2016 , is for arrivals only.
We could see beautiful cherry blossom trees and the animated flags flapping around in the wind. We could see to North of the terminals and ramp areas a maintenance area with a large shared hanger for both Bhutan Airlines and Druk Air
After clearing customs, we found the money exchange counter located at the right with the exchange rates listed on the board .
We came out of the airport where we could find a lot of people waiting in traditional dresses,our guide with our names written on a placard was waiting for us
Great article.
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