The Bhutanese Leading the way.
On 10th October 2024 a delegation from the Ministry of Infrastructure and Transport (MoIT), led by former Secretary Phuntsho Tobgay, held discussions with India’s Ministry of Civil Aviation regarding the Air Service Agreement between the two nations.
During the meeting, Bhutan formally submitted a request for the approval of two flight paths to serve the Gelephu International Airport.
The Ministry of Civil Aviation said it would review the proposal and get back, and the ministry also informed the delegation that they would also have to check with India’s Defense Ministry.
This is because the airspace on the Indian side comes under the North-East defense area, as planes landing and taking off would immediately be entering Indian airspace.
Currently, India provides the Subsu and Bogo air routes over India for planes flying from Paro, and for Gelephu, Bhutan is requesting two more routes of Igay and Taray in the east and west to directly fly out and in, as otherwise it will have to use a long and circuitous route via Paro.
There is optimism on the Bhutanese side that India will accede to the request, given the friendly relations between both the countries and assurances given at the higher levels.
For Bhutan, an earlier reply would be all the better as it would help Bhutan to better plan out the international airport and its flight routes.
It is believed that the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and External Trade (MoFAET) is following up with the Indian Embassy, which in turn is following it up in New Delhi, and so there is constant communication.
The next talks on the matter are expected to happen in Thimphu though dates have not been finalized yet.
As a positive gesture and to show support to the GMC Airport, the Indian side has already agreed to the Gelephu airport doing scheduled flights to India using the existing approved air routes or even an inaugural flight using other routes.
A source on the Indian side said that review of the request from the Bhutanese side will take some time, given the multiple stakeholders involved in India, like the Civil Aviation Ministry, Indian Air Force, Defense Ministry, etc., with 8 to 10 people sitting from the Indian side. The source said that the sector falls in India’s northern border defense area with adjoining defense infrastructure. The source said the review is a work in progress.
Another request that the October delegation from Bhutan made is for Fifth Freedom Flights for the Dubai route, which is the right to land in Delhi and also drop and pick up passengers. This will also be important to make flights to Dubai economically viable. This matter is also under discussion, however, as a good will gesture, India has allowed Bhutanese planes to land in Delhi on the way to Dubai, though it cannot yet pick up passengers.
When it comes to defense, the nearest Indian Airforce airbase to Gelephu is the Hashimara Airbase in North Bengal followed by the multiple use Bagdogra Airport and Airbase in Siliguri.
When India approves the two air routes for the Gelephu Airport then what will happen is that Bhutan will give the list of the scheduled flights to the Kolkata Air Traffic Controller (ATC) that looks after this region, and this, in turn, is shared with defense airports in the region.
Currently, for the two approved air routes that are used by Paro Airport, what happens is that the flight schedule is already with the Kolkata ATC. This is important so that there are no accidents in the air.
When a plane takes off from Paro and is flying east to Kolkata or Bangkok, the Bhutanese airplane will also communicate with the Hashimara Airbase to keep them in the loop, and similarly when the plane is flying north-west to Delhi then the Bagdogra Airbase is contacted and kept in the loop.
As the plane approaches closer to Delhi, it leaves the Kolkata ATC and enters the Delhi ATC with which the flight schedule and details would already be shared. This smooth system ensures no issues even in cross border flights in the region, and it is hoped that the same smooth system that keeps all sides and stakeholders in the loop can be adopted for the Gelephu International Airport.
The international airport is at the planning and design stage which is being done by NACOS (Netherland Airport Consultancy) and it is being vetted by Changi Airport. NACOS is an airport and engineering consultancy firm headquartered in The Hague, Netherlands.
The current airport is not a part of the upcoming airport, and so, the new site is more towards the western site or towards the Army Welfare Project (AWP). The new runway will be 3.5 km long, enough for an Airbus 350.
The current one for the ATR is 1.5 km.
NACO recently did a pre-concept design presentation on the airport, which shows that the GMC Airport will be built to handle 1.3 million (mn) passengers a year in the first phase from 2029 to 2040.
The second phase will be from 2040 to 2065 where the airport will be expanded to accommodate 5.5 mn passengers, and the final phase will be from 2065 when 15 mn passengers a year can be handled.
With the pre-concept design done, the next step will be detailed designs that will be done with the aim to start construction this year and finish construction by 2029. The actual cost will be known only after the detailed design but it could be anything from USD 200 mn to USD 500 mn.
The Indian Foreign Secretary, Vinay Mohan Kwatra, visited Gelephu from 7th to 8th July 2023 and received an audience with His Majesty The King. Bhutan was already in touch with the Airports Authority of India for technical help in the Gelephu Airport in 2023 with another visit in January 2024.
From the day of the announcement of the GMC project, there has been goodwill and support from the Indian side from the Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi onwards with the Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sharma coming to visit Bhutan and expressing public support for GMC, given how it will also benefit Assam.
While there is no doubt about Indian support for this key project for Bhutan, the crucial issue going forward will be the need to have a faster decision-making process and ensure that things do not get held up by red tape or incessant delays and processes, as early clearance for the two new routes will be critical to make arrangements from now, itself, for air traffic flow to the GMC.
An important highlight of the 117th National Day Address by His Majesty The King was on the International Airport in Gelephu. His Majesty said the construction of a large international airport in Gelephu will establish the GMC as a key aviation hub.
“This airport is essential for the success of the GMC as a business hub, and it is also a critical lifeline for Bhutan’s national security, especially for a landlocked country.”
His Majesty said the project is not just an infrastructure development, but it is a People’s Project – a nation-building effort, a lifeline for Bhutan, for our economy, security, sovereignty, and ultimately, our future.
His Majesty said he is deeply encouraged by the support from Bhutanese living abroad, particularly from those in Australia, US and Canada who have pledged nearly USD 140 mn to the airport project. This amount will only grow with contributions from Bhutanese in other countries.
By the time the deposit collection is done, many Bhutanese families outside and across Bhutan will have had invested in this key national and peoples’ project.
His Majesty said that he would even bring his own children to the airport work site, so they too can work alongside fellow citizens and help complete this important undertaking for our times.
