Drukair to introduce Guwahati-Singapore flight

Passengers from Guwahati will now be able to fly direct and non-stop to Singapore.

Drukair, Royal Bhutan Airlines, will launch its inaugural flight for its new route from Guwahati to Singapore and vice versa on September 1.

This new route will offer travellers from Assam and the North East non-stop flights to Singapore and back.

Tandi Wangchuk, Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Drukair, said here today that the launch of the new route by the airlines is as per the existing Air Service Agreement signed between New Delhi and Thimphu and the inaugural event will be held coinciding with 50 years of diplomatic relations between Bhutan and India.

"While the inaugural flight will be on September 1, the scheduled regular commercial flights will begin from September 29," he said, adding that services will be twice a week on both sides.

This flight will be the only international flight that connects Paro in Bhutan via Guwahati to Singapore.

Asked if the route will be economically viable for Drukair, he said, "While we cannot be certain that it will be viable immediately, we are optimistic that passenger response will be very good and the operations will become financially viable within a short period."

Drukair will use the 118-seater Airbus 319 in the Paro-Guwahati-Singapore route.

Wangchuk said that Guwahati, as the gateway to North East India, has lot of potential.

"The new route is expected to promote both inbound tourists as well as outbound ones from both the North Eastern states as well as Bhutan. While people of North East India will be able to fly directly to Singapore, we also expect that visitors from Singapore and other South East Asian countries will fly in to Guwahati, visit the North East and also travel to Bhutan, thus helping create a new tourist circuit containing both North East India and Bhutan," he said.

"The new route is expected to greatly facilitate travel, trade and people to people exchanges among Bhutan, Assam and Singapore as well as other North Eastern states of India, while providing passengers with a greater range of options. The new route will also contribute towards strengthening social, cultural and economic ties among Bhutan, India's North Eastern region and Singapore," Wangchuk said.

Drukair currently operates two flights weekly from Paro to Bangkok via Guwahati.