[6] The airline also owns a small fleet of four Airbus A320 family jets, three A319 and one A320neo, one ATR 42 turboprop regional aircraft, and two A321XLRs on order.

After consideration by King Jigme Singye Wangchuck and the Tshogdu, Drukair was established by royal charter on 5 April 1981, ten years after the Druk Gyalpo, King Jigme Dorji Wangchuck gradually began to open up the Kingdom from self-imposed isolation, and seven years after welcoming its first foreign visitors.

[10] At the time, the runway was 1,200 metres (3,900 ft) in length,[7] giving the Bhutanese government specific requirements for a choice of aircraft to be operated.

[7] At the time of service commencement, Paro Airport consisted of the runway, a two-room air traffic control building (with the ground floor acting as the check-in counter) and a departure lounge on the lawn.

[11] Before the establishment of the Department of Civil Aviation in January 1986, the airline was responsible for the operation and maintenance of airport infrastructure.

With the introduction of the BAe 146, Drukair was able to widen its network to link Paro with Delhi on 26 November 1988, Bangkok on 28 January 1989 and Kathmandu in April 1989.

[21] Due to a requirement stipulated by the Bhutanese government that all foreign tourists, with the exception of Indian nationals, enter and leave Bhutan by air, the country's tourism industry was brought to a halt, which saw the airline paying hefty penalties to disgruntled tour operators.

[9][21] This problem was somewhat alleviated when a second BAe 146 entered service in 1992,[22] and on 11 November 1993, the airline introduced a 10 Executive Class on the aircraft.

[27] BAe Systems cancelled the RJX program in November 2002,[28] due to receiving orders from only two airlines,[29] Drukair and British European.

[41] Pilgrims have previously made the pilgrimage to Bodh Gaya via a 2–3-day overland trip from the Bhutanese border town of Phuntsholing, and Drukair management plans on acquiring 20–30% of this traffic,[40][41] although the airline had yet to record a profit on the route as of February 2006.

[42] The following month, as a result of Royal Bhutan Army efforts to expel from Bhutan territory Indian separatist insurgent groups, notably the United Liberation Front of Asom and the National Democratic Front of Bodoland,[43] flights to Dhaka were suspended from 29 December in order to prevent insurgents from using Drukair flights to escape to alleged hideouts in Bangladesh.

[citation needed] In July 2005, the governments of India and Bhutan signed a new bilateral air services agreement which increased the allowable number of weekly flights between the two countries from 12 to 49.

Thirty heliports across the country were identified, and the introduction of services saw, for example, the 550 kilometres (340 mi) trip from Thimphu to Trashigang taking only one hour, instead of two to three days.

[50] Flights to Dhaka, suspended since 29 December 2003, resumed on 23 October 2006,[52] and the airline was given rights to fly to Chittagong and Cox's Bazar by the Bangladeshi authorities.

[53] The airline announced plans in July 2007 to start scheduled flights to Mumbai via Kathmandu from March 2008,[54] inline with the strategy of Drukair management to increase the number of Indian tourists travelling to Bhutan during the low season months of June through August and November through February.

[56] The two BAe 146 aircraft were sold to Star Perú in October 2007 for US$3.3 million, and left Bhutan for Peru in November and December 2007.

[22] The uniform was chosen by way of a competition in which five Bhutanese fashion designers submitted entries, with the winner receiving a BTN 75,000 prize.

[62][63] Although the government of Bhutan goes to great lengths to prevent outside influences from intruding on Bhutanese culture, Drukair is not immune to problems which affect the airline industry and the world community at large.

[64] Due to its small network which is reliant on fifth-freedom rights,[65] Drukair regularly leases its aircraft to other airlines, such as Myanmar Airways International and Bangkok Airways in order to keep utilisation rates on its aircraft higher than they would under normal circumstances, whilst at the same time earning extra revenue.

The airstrip, which was expected to be 3,900 feet (1,200 m) in length and operational by March 2010, would allow for service by small aircraft in the 15–16 seat category.

[76] Drukair is conducting a feasibility study into operating flights to the airstrip from Paro, as well as two others which are under construction at Bathpalathang and Gelephu.

[80] Under the Vision 2020 Plan, the Royal Bhutanese Government has identified the requirement for improved external air links by 2017, in an effort to increase tourism revenue 100% by 2012 and 150% by 2017.

The aircraft was used on flights from Paro to Kolkata and Kathmandu, and was on standby during the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation summit in Thimphu at the end of April.

The Druk Air helicopter services fleet consists of the following aircraft (as of December 2024[update]): "HapinessSmiles" formerly "My Happiness Reward" was launched by Drukair on 10 November 2014, to commemorate the birth anniversary of His Majesty the Fourth Druk Gyalpo Jigme Singye Wangchuck and to celebrate his enlightened and visionary philosophy of Gross National Happiness.