Since Bhutan is a landlocked country, there are either two ways to get into Bhutan….. By Road or by flight.
Paro international airport is situated at a height of 2,225 m (7300 ft) above sea level and is surrounded by mountains as high as 4,876 m (16,000 ft).
At present two carriers operate to Bhutan, Drukair and Bhutan Airlines.
There are domestic airports in Yonphula in eastern Bhutan, Bumthang in central Bhutan, and Gelephu in south-central Bhutan.
The International sectors in which airlines from Bhutan operates are as follows :
Special charter flight as per request.
Yelha Bhutan Tours also has special charter flight service to Vietnam ( Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh City ) , Hong Kong, Malaysia ( Kuala Lumpur ) and any city in Asia and as per demands of clients.
Charter service airbus fleet : Airbus A319, ATR
Luxury Jets fleet: Falcon 2000x, Cessna Citation Jet, Gulfstream G150, Learjet 45XR, Eclipse 500, Embraer Phenom 300 etc.
Bhutan is bordered by India in the south therefore the Bhutan border towns of Phuentsholing, Gelephu and Samdrup Jongkhar are the only land gateways areas open to tourists coming via India.
The town of Phuentsholing in south-west is located approximately 170 km east of the Indian national airport at Bagdogra. After crossing Phuentsholing, you begin your journey to Thimphu, the capital city with travel time of about six hours for the 170 km stretch.
Gelephu in south-central Bhutan is another entry point to Bhutan. It is approximately 250 kms from Thimphu and the journey will take you through the sub-tropical areas of Bhutan before entering the alpine zone and then finally into Thimphu. One will have to traverse across three districts and the travel time will be about ten hours.
The district of Samdrup Jongkhar in south-east Bhutan borders the Indian district of Darranga, Assam and is approximately 150 kms away from Guwahati, the capital city of Assam.
The journey from Guwahati is about three hours. Tourists entering Bhutan through Samdrup Jongkhar will take you to Trashigang, and from there over the lateral route to Monggar, Bumthang, Trongsa, Wangdue Phodrang and then finally into capital, Thimphu. The distance is about 700 kms and will take you a minimum of three days to reach Thimphu.