Bhutan Drukair will fly up to 20,000 passengers

Drukair will fly up to 20,000 passengers this month alone - a record for the airline.

The record traffic is a result not only of the peak tourist season beginning this month, but also the upcoming Royal Wedding.

As a result, Drukair has already inserted 28 additional flights, or made available 4,500 more seats, this October. Half these flights are on the Paro-Bangkok, Thailand sector. The airline has placed a second crew in Bangkok to address the record upsurge in passenger traffic.

“We’ve created more than 25 percent additional capacity for October and it’s the highest we’ve ever created,” the airline’s commercial manager, Tshering Penjor, said. He added that the airline has even had to hire temporary staff to cope with the record traffic being experienced.

On October 2, the airline flew 15 flights in and out of Paro airport, setting another record for most flights operated at the airport since its construction in the early eighties.

While some seats on incoming flights to Paro are still available, Tshering Penjor said that preferred dates might not be available. In case of medical emergencies requiring patients to be flown out, he said that Drukair would continue to prioritise such cases. “Drukair has and will continue to extend priority and do all possible, as and when an emergency arises.”

While the airline has created the additional capacity, bad weather and technical problems if encountered, could disrupt the October schedule. “We’ve kept some cushion to ensure during such unforeseen circumstances while flights may be disrupted and delayed, at no point of time, the air services will be crippled,” Tshering Penjor said. He added, “However no one can guarantee against any technical problems or weather related delays and, if we face them, obviously it’ll impact the schedules.”

A technical problem with one of its airbus jets already disrupted the schedule, when it was grounded for maintenance on Tuesday and most of Wednesday.

He also pointed out that, despite the increased frequency of flight operations, safety of passengers and aircraft maintenance would not be compromised, and would remain a priority of the airline.

Source: Kuenselonline