Landing a plane at Bhutan airport is so difficult that only 50 pilots can do it.

Thimphu, Bhutan
CNN
—

There’s a statue of Buddha in the cockpit. The orange-robed figure looks on as the pilot executes a dramatic last-minute U-turn to land the A319 on the narrow runway. Dozens of passengers, some of whom have spent the last few minutes squirming in their seat cushions, break into applause.

It’s just another normal day at Paro International Airport in Bhutan, widely considered one of the most technically difficult landings in the world. Maneuvering the short runway between two 18,000-foot peaks requires technical know-how and nerves of steel.

The airport and its difficult conditions have added to the mystery surrounding travel to Bhutan, a Himalayan kingdom of about 800,000 people.

The unique conditions for flying to and from Paro make giant aircraft unsuitable. But for aviation enthusiasts, this is part of the appeal of visiting the Land of the Thunder Dragon.

First and foremost: “Paro is tough, but not dangerous,” says Captain Chimi Dorji, who has been with Bhutan’s state-owned national airline, Druk Air (also known as Royal Bhutan Airlines), for 25 years.

“It is a challenge to the pilot’s skill, but it is not dangerous, because if it were dangerous, I would not be able to fly.”

A combination of geographical factors makes Paro – and much of Bhutan – visually stunning. These factors also make flying into and out of Paro a highly specialized skill.

Paro is a Category C airport, meaning pilots must receive special training to fly there. They must land themselves manually, without radar. And, Dorji says, it’s crucial that pilots know the landscape around the airport — if they miss by even a fraction of an inch, you could land on someone’s house.

“In Paro, you really need to have local skills, local knowledge and domain expertise. We call it local competency training, area training or route training from flying from anywhere to Paro,” he told CNN Travel.

Bhutan, located between China and India, is more than 97 percent mountainous. Its capital, Thimphu, is 7,710 feet (2,350 meters) above sea level. Paro is slightly lower, at 7,382 feet.

“At higher altitudes, the air is thinner, so the plane has to fly through the air faster,” explains Dorji, who now trains pilots and cabin crew for Druk Air. “Your true airspeed will be the same, but your airspeed is much faster than on the ground.”

The next variable to consider is the weather.

Anyone who has flown into Paro — from New Delhi, Bangkok, Kathmandu or even Hanoi as of October 2024 — will likely have had to wake up very early for their flight. That’s because airport officials prefer all flights to land before noon for maximum safety due to strong wind conditions.

“We try to avoid afternoon operations because that means a lot of thermal winds, high temperatures, and no rain yet,” says Dorji. “So the ground gets dry, the temperatures get hot, and the winds/downs come down the valley in the afternoon. Mornings are calmer.”

However, this is not a big problem in the case of take-off, so travelers can count on a better sleep on their last night in Bhutan thanks to the afternoon departure time.

However, there are no night flights in Paro, regardless of the season, due to the lack of radar.

Various stays are required during the monsoon season, which is usually between June and August.

It’s not uncommon to see thunderstorms this time of year, with hailstones that can be as large as golf balls.

“The monsoon extends across the Bay of Bengal, with northwest and northeast winds blowing from China. There are also days of rain,” says Dorji.

Ultimately, he says, part of pilot training isn’t just knowing how to fly — it’s also knowing when not to fly, and being able to decide when it’s not safe to take off.

The final factor in Paro’s difficulty level is what Dorji calls “the obstacles” – the mountainous terrain surrounding the airport.

The Barrow runway is only 7,431 feet long and is flanked by two towering mountains. As a result, pilots can only see the runway from the air when they are about to land.

Things are changing in Bhutan, and the aviation industry is one of them.

Gelephu, in southern Bhutan near the Indian border, was chosen as the site for a new purpose-built city.

Although Gelephu already has a small airport, its new status brings with it significant expansion. The most notable difference between Gelephu and Paro is the terrain – Gelephu is flatter and there is enough space to build longer runways that are easier for non-specialist pilots to use and can accommodate jumbo jets.

Within a few years, there could be direct flights to Bhutan from North America, Europe and the Middle East.

The industry here is still relatively young. Druk Air was founded in 1981 – compare that to 1919 for KLM, 1920 for Qantas, and 1928 for Delta Air Lines.

Although Bhutan has only a few dozen licensed pilots, there is a stated national interest in recruiting and training more young pilots domestically, not just recruiting from abroad.

Aspiring pilots must demonstrate their ability to fly in all of Bhutan’s diverse seasons. As the national airline, Druk Air has taken a great deal of responsibility for pilot training itself.

“I see myself as… the bridge between the old generation and the new generation,” says Dorji, 43. He believes there are 50 licensed pilots in Bhutan, but that number could easily double in the next few years.

Anyway, he says, “I’m looking forward to it.”