Yonphula Domestic Airport in Kanglung, Trashigang has significantly eased travel for many passengers. However, poor weather conditions, particularly during peak monsoon, have led to flight inconsistency, leaving travellers frustrated. Strong winds and dense fog are the main causes of frequent flight schedule disruptions.
Dense fog from various directions covers the airport as passengers anxiously wait for the weather to improve. After hours of waiting, an airline staff announces the cancellation of their flight due to poor weather conditions.
Frustrated, some passengers return home in the hope of catching the next flight, while others are left with no choice but to travel by road.
According to data from the Drukair office, out of 175 scheduled flights last year, 133 were successful, while 42 flights failed to land at the Yonphula Domestic Airport.
The flights get cancelled due to dense fog and strong crosswinds. Although the problem occurs throughout the year, it is severe during the monsoon months of June, July, and August.
“We start our journey from home at around 3:00 AM and after reaching here, we wait for almost a day, hoping that the flight will land. But after waiting for too long we learn that the flight got cancelled. This frustrates us because we start from home early morning hiring a vehicle,” said Pema Dorji, a passenger from Kangpara.
“We can get to our destination fast if the weather is clear. But the weather here is bad and we were told to return the day after tomorrow. So, we decided to travel by road now. It is not convenient to travel till the airport as our children have other work to attend to besides dropping us off,” said Langa Dema, a traveller from Samkhar Gewog, Trashigang.
Drukair officials stated that they try to arrange relief flights. However, due to continued flight cancellations, the number of backlog passengers becomes huge making it challenging to clear even on relief flights.
Officials added that Drukair also faces financial strain, as the company has to provide meals and refreshments to stranded passengers, in addition to fuel costs incurred while attempting to land.
To mitigate these challenges, Drukair has reduced its flight schedule to twice a week during the monsoon.
The Department of Air Transport officials said as the department currently lacks in-house expertise, plans are in the pipeline to seek specialists from outside to study weather patterns, and infrastructure, and explore appropriate technology for flight operations.
To address the issue, the department plans to expand the runway.
Yonphula Domestic Airport was inaugurated in December 2011.
Sonam Darjay, Trashigang
Edited by Phub Gyem
