Quick summary
Paro (PBH) is Bhutan’s only international airport, and only Drukair and Bhutan Airlines fly there. Neither belongs to Star Alliance, Oneworld or SkyTeam, so no alliance award itinerary reaches Paro: the last leg is always a separate booking. Both carriers publish scheduled Paro services from Bangkok, Delhi, Kolkata and Kathmandu.
The caveat: separate bookings mean two contracts and two timetables, and the Paro schedules are reissued month by month. Here is how to sequence the booking, and which of the four gateways fits your passport and your miles.
No alliance award chart prices the final leg into Bhutan. That remains true in October 2026. Your miles can cover the long-haul flight, but not the separate booking into the kingdom. Travelers starting in North America, Europe or Australia reach the same limit, whichever program they collect.
The stakes are not a saving you can count on. They are the order of the bookings, the fit between your passport and your gateway, and the demands of holding two contracts instead of one.
The long-haul seat is only part of the booking.
Why your miles stop short of Bhutan
Paro, coded PBH, is Bhutan’s only international airport, and Drukair and Bhutan Airlines are the only carriers operating into it, per Drukair’s own destination list and each airline’s published timetable. Neither carrier belongs to Star Alliance, Oneworld or SkyTeam. No status tier, transfer bonus or upgrade certificate changes that. The gap is membership, not availability.
Your miles still work up to the gateway. The long-haul booking sits within your program; the Bhutan sector sits outside it, on the operating airline’s own terms and timetable.
That split matters at the connection. Our guide to travel insurance for missed Bhutan connections explains what to verify before you commit to dates.
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Where the two Bhutanese carriers actually fly
Drukair and Bhutan Airlines publish scheduled Paro services from four cities: Bangkok, Delhi, Kolkata and Kathmandu. Every routing into Bhutan ends at one of them. Drukair issues its timetable month by month; the October 2026 edition was current at the time of writing. Bhutan Airlines publishes Bhutan Airlines’ 2026 timetable.
The two airlines publish their timetables separately. Service days need not repeat from one edition to the next, and a schedule not yet published for your travel month leaves the long-haul dates unsettled.
The gateways are not interchangeable. Delhi is the shortest hop but adds a document question for a stay you arrange yourself; our guide to the Delhi connection and the Indian visa requirement covers what to check. Kathmandu pairs naturally with a Nepal add-on. The carrier’s schedule, not the alliance network, decides the days you can fly.
How to sequence the two bookings
The Bhutan sector is the scarcer half of the trip: two carriers and a timetable that is published rather than improvised. The long-haul miles or cash fare must reach the gateway on an adjacent date.
Slack at the gateway is a separate decision. How much to leave is a question for your policy wording rather than your optimism; our guide to timing the Drukair connection works through that buffer decision in detail.
Travelers already holding an award into Bangkok, Delhi, Kolkata or Kathmandu have no sequencing problem. Their only decision is the second ticket.
Check the carrier’s schedule for your month
Work backwards from the Paro service days, then choose a gateway your long-haul miles or cash fare can reach on an adjacent date. If your long-haul is a flexible cash fare you can redate, book it first and fit Paro around it; if it is a fixed-date award, buy the Bhutan sector around the service days already published for your month.
- Shortlist the gateways: cross off any of Bangkok, Delhi, Kolkata or Kathmandu your long-haul program or cash fare cannot reach on your dates.
- Read the timetable: note the Paro service days for your month on the operating airline’s own schedule, not on a route map. If that month’s schedule is not out yet, keep the long-haul half flexible.
- Fix the paperwork: check the entry rules for the gateway country for your passport before you lock the Paro date.
- Watch: the next monthly edition of Drukair’s schedule — a change to Paro service days would move the connection you are planning.
Once the timetable for your month is out, buy the Bhutan sector direct from the operating airline on its own site. Keep both confirmations, plus the schedule for your travel month, in one folder.
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Questions? Answers.
Can I book a single award ticket all the way to Paro?
No. Paro (PBH) is Bhutan’s only international airport, and the two carriers that serve it, Drukair and Bhutan Airlines, belong to none of Star Alliance, Oneworld or SkyTeam. There is no member airline for an alliance award to price on the final sector, so the trip is ticketed in two parts.
Can I earn or redeem alliance miles on the Paro sector?
Neither carrier is a member of Star Alliance, Oneworld or SkyTeam, so the Paro sector does not form part of an alliance award. Any arrangement for mileage on that leg would come directly from the airline, separately from the program that carried you to the gateway.
Which cities can I fly to Paro from?
Bangkok, Delhi, Kolkata and Kathmandu, according to the carriers’ published schedules as of October 2026. Drukair issues a fresh timetable each month, so the service days on a given gateway can differ from one edition to the next.
Is Paro really Bhutan’s only international airport?
Yes. Drukair and Bhutan Airlines are the only carriers serving it, and both publish Paro as their Bhutan gateway. Every routing decision therefore ends at one of the four published gateway cities.
How do I check whether a Paro service runs on my date?
Open the current timetable on the airline’s own site. Drukair publishes a version for each month, with the October and November 2026 editions available at the time of writing, while Bhutan Airlines publishes an annual 2026 schedule. Compare the service days for your gateway with the dates your long-haul can reach it.
