AviatDataParo International Airport PBH / VQPR
Paro, Paro District · Bhutan · Department of Air Transport (DoAT) — the Bhutanese government department that owns and operates the airport, under Bhutan's Ministry of Infrastructure and Transport; aviation safety and security regulation sits separately with the Bhutan Civil Aviation Authority (BCAA), successor to the former Department of Civil Aviation
190kpax · 2023
Limited hoursInternational · customs & immigrationJet A-1
ICAO / IATAVQPR / PBH
OperatorDepartment of Air Transport (DoAT) — the Bhutanese government department that owns and operates the airport, under Bhutan's Ministry of Infrastructure and Transport; aviation safety and security regulation sits separately with the Bhutan Civil Aviation Authority (BCAA), successor to the former Department of Civil Aviation
Coordinates27.4032°N, 89.4246°E
Elevation7,364 ft · 2,245 m
Time zoneBTT (UTC+6, no DST)
Passengers / yr189,878 (2023)
CustomsYes
Border controlYes
SchengenNo
FuelJet A-1
Bonded—
AIP referenceVQPR — Bhutan aeronautical information is maintained through the Bhutan Civil Aviation Authority (BCAA), Thimphu, the ICAO-designated regulator responsible for air navigation services; DoAT operates the airport itself
Operating hoursDay VFR/RNP operations only, roughly sunrise to sunset — no scheduled night flying; afternoon valley winds regularly force an earlier effective cutoff in the pre-monsoon and monsoon months, and the field can close for days in poor visibility since only visual and RNP-AR procedures are flown here.
TerminalsSingle passenger terminal, commissioned 1999, built in traditional Bhutanese dzong-style architecture with the interior refreshed in 2022; it handles both domestic and international arrivals/departures with no separate satellite building.
Runways (1)
- 15/33 · 2,265 m / 7,431 ft · 30 m wide · Asphalt
One of the world's most demanding commercial airports: hemmed by peaks up to 5,500 m in a narrow Himalayan valley, it has no ILS and is flown on visual/RNP-AR approaches by a small pool of specially certified Drukair and Bhutan Airlines crews only, with day-VMC-only operations. Verified 2023 traffic was 189,878 passengers and 3,752 departures (+14%/+64% y/y, Department of Air Transport) — the most recent figures found on any DoAT or BCAA release. A commonly cited 2018 pre-pandemic figure of roughly 397,600 passengers appears on Wikipedia without a primary citation and could not be independently confirmed; a separate unsourced '~400,000 (2024)' estimate likewise could not be confirmed against any primary release. Neither figure is used as the reported pax value here.
Services
Available
On request / PPR
Seasonal / ageing
Unconfirmed / not listed
Ground handling
Available · 3 providers
Drukair – Royal Bhutan Airlines
Bhutan's flag carrier is headquartered and based at Paro and historically operated the airport's infrastructure before Bhutan's Department of Civil Aviation was formed in 1986; no independent third-party scheduled-airline handler is documented at Paro, consistent with self-handling of its own turnarounds (in-house, Drukair); whether it also handles Bhutan Airlines is not independently confirmed.
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Verified 2 weeks ago · unconfirmed source
Bhutan Airlines
Paro-based carrier (formerly Tashi Air, Bhutan's first private airline); no independent third-party scheduled-airline handler documented at Paro — turnarounds presumed self-handled in-house absent evidence of a handling agreement with Drukair or another agent.
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Verified 2 weeks ago · unconfirmed source
Bhutan Air Services
Listed by the Department of Air Transport as the Authorized Clearing Agent for private aircraft and helicopters at Paro International Airport, with a branch office at the airport; arranges landing clearance coordination, ramp/ground handling and crew visa processing for GA/charter operators; confirmed via doat.gov.bt's Authorized Clearing Agent page.
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Verified 2 weeks ago · unconfirmed source
Aircraft fuel
Available · 2 providers
Bhutan Oil Corporation
Sole Jet A1 supplier and into-plane agent at Paro International Airport; operates the airport's Jet A1 refuelling station with roughly 100 KL of fixed storage plus 20 KL of mobile refuellers (about 14 days' operational reserve); price is fixed by Bhutan's Ministry of Economic Affairs and payable in cash (USD) for foreign-registered aircraft; AVGAS not available. Per Logistics Cluster Digital Logistics Capacity Assessment and aviation fuel-provider listings.
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Verified 2 weeks ago · unconfirmed source
Bhutan Air Services
Coordinates refuelling arrangements (Bhutan Oil Corporation remains the physical Jet A1 supplier) for the private aircraft and helicopters it handles at Paro; confirmed via doat.gov.bt Authorized Clearing Agent listing.
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Verified 2 weeks ago · unconfirmed source
De-icing
Not listed
Part-145 line maintenance
Unconfirmed
Drukair – Royal Bhutan Airlines
Maintains its own Airbus A319/A320neo and ATR-42 fleet from a hangar at Paro built in 1990 with Government of India funding as part of the Paro Airport Development Project; line/transit maintenance presumed in-house; no separate named line-maintenance contractor found.
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Verified 2 weeks ago · unconfirmed source
Part-145 base maintenance
Not listed
Component shops & overhaul
Not listed
Flight catering
Not listed
Aircraft cleaning
Not listed
Ground support equipment
On request
Department of Air Transport (Bhutan)
Airport authority develops and operates ground support equipment facilities at Paro; a 2025 DoAT tender for 'Detail Design and Construction of Private Jet Apron, GSE Shed, and Rehabilitation of Parallel Taxiway' confirms an airport-run GSE facility; rental terms for visiting operators unconfirmed.
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Verified 2 weeks ago · unconfirmed source
Cargo handling
Available
Drukair – Royal Bhutan Airlines
Operates the DrukAir Cargo warehouse at Paro; all commercial export airfreight out of Bhutan must be routed through this facility for handling, customs clearance and regulatory processing.
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Verified 2 weeks ago · unconfirmed source
Aviation security
Available
Department of Air Transport (Bhutan)
Runs airport security screening and airside access control at Paro, including issuance of Airport Security Access Cards and Airside Driving Permits for personnel and vehicles; confirmed via doat.gov.bt online-services listing.
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Verified 2 weeks ago · unconfirmed source
Passenger & crew transport
Not listed
Flight support
Available · 2 providers
Department of Air Transport (Bhutan)
Government department that owns and operates Paro International Airport; coordinates ATC, meteorological briefing and overall airport operations (day-VFR only, sunrise to sunset, government-approved navigator required for all inbound flights); confirmed via the department's own site, doat.gov.bt. · Sunrise to sunset (day VFR only)
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Verified 2 weeks ago · unconfirmed source
Bhutan Air Services
Provides the government-approved navigator/guide-pilot arrangement mandatory for all flights into Paro, plus landing-permit coordination, for private and charter aircraft; confirmed via doat.gov.bt.
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Verified 2 weeks ago · unconfirmed source
Hotel & travel
Unconfirmed
Le Méridien Paro, Riverfront
Five-star hotel on the Paro riverfront a short drive from the airport, listed by aviation flight-support directories as accommodation used for crew and VIP passengers transiting Paro; no specific airline crew-contract independently confirmed.
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Verified 2 weeks ago · unconfirmed source