Paro International Airport

Paro Airport

སྤ་རོ་གནམ་ཐང༌།
Summary
Airport typePublic
OperatorDepartment of Civil Aviation of Bhutan
ServesThimphu and Paro
LocationParo, Paro District, Bhutan
Hub for
Elevation AMSL2,235 m / 7,332 ft
Coordinates27°24′32″N 089°25′14″E / 27.40889°N 89.42056°E / 27.40889; 89.42056
Websiteparoairport.com
Map
PBH
Location within Bhutan
Runways
Direction Length Surface
m ft
15/33 2,265 7,431 Asphalt

Paro International Airport (Dzongkha: སྤ་རོ་གནམ་ཐང༌།, romanized: paro gnam thang) (IATA: PBH, ICAO: VQPR) is the sole international airport of the four airports in Bhutan. It is 6 kilometres (3.7 mi; 3.2 nmi) from Paro in a deep valley on the bank of the river Paro Chhu. With surrounding peaks as high as 5,500 metres (18,000 ft), it is considered one of the world's most challenging airports, and only a very small number of pilots are certified to land at the airport.

Flights to and from Paro are allowed under visual meteorological conditions only and are restricted to daylight hours from sunrise to sunset, with additional restrictions in the afternoon during windy seasons. Paro airport was the only airport in Bhutan until 2011. The airport is accessible by road, 6 km (3.7 mi; 3.2 nmi) from Paro city, and 54 km (34 mi; 29 nmi) from Thimphu by Paro-Thimphu road.