Annettes Heft: Flying into Paro with the King and Queen of Bhutan!

This may the one and only time I fly with royalty :)

During check-in, ground staff said that the flight might depart earlier, and requested that passengers be at the departure gate early. I thought it odd that a little non-descript airline is more anal about punctuality than bigger airlines.

As we board the plane from the front exit, I spotted two bouquets of flowers in the gallery and wondered if some celebrity or VIP would be on the same flight.

The welcome address by the stewardess was different for this flight. Instead of the usual “Ladies and Gentlemen….”, the stewardess started with “Your Majesty the King…. and Majesty the Queen….”. I thought that as the national airline of a monarchy, it was the norm for DrukAir to include that in their welcome address.

Apparently not. The Bhutanese King Jigme Khesar Namgyel Wangchuck and his consort Queen Jetsun Pema and their entourage were indeed on the flight to Paro, occupying the entire Business Class (which actually was not very big).

There was a toilet at the Business Class, but strangely, the entourage came to use the toilets at the back of the Economy Class. That was the first time I saw Bhutanese men in their traditional Gho, knee-high socks ala Japanese school girls with leather shoes finished off with a badge featuring the Royal Couple.

As the plane taxied to a stop at Paro Airport, the atmosphere in Economy Class visibly perked up, especially with the Bhutanese children who were returning from a Summer Trip.

Luck would have it that I sat on the left of the plane, and the airstair was on the left. A long red carpet was laid out and the Royal Couple and their entourage exited the plane. Multiple cameras and handphones occupied whatever available windows there were on the left side of the plane as I and fellow passengers joined in snapping the backs of the Royal Couple and their entourage. The Royal Couple and their entourage proceeded to a different building, probably the VIP complex, and once they were inside the building, the long red carpet was rolled back.

That being the monsoon season, I couldn’t help but wonder about the Royal Couple and their entourage and the red carpet being soaked through if rain came.