The World's Most Dangerous Approach - Paro, Bhutan

- I am flying on Bhutan Airlines 8319 on a flight to Paro. - Our boarding time is 8:13, and after immigration checks, on the right hand side, there is the Radisson lounge and you can use the Radisson lounge, okay? Have a good flight, sir. - Thank you. (upbeat music) You can use your credit card, a Lounge Key or a Priority Pass to come to the lounge. (upbeat music) Good morning from the Kathmandu airport lounge. And today I'm flying to Paro, Bhutan. If you don't know where Bhutan is, it is a landlocked country in the Himalayas between China, India and Nepal.

But as an aviation expert, Bhutan is very special because it is well known for its

dangerous

and unique access to its airport. The airport is located between the mountains of the valley. Guys, I'm so excited and let's go fly. (plane engine roar) - This is our plane, welcome aboard. - Hot towel sir? - Thank you. - What would you like to drink, sir? There is a drinks menu. Please go to the list, sir. - Orange juice. (upbeat music) - Hello and welcome aboard, Sam. My name is Chenga and I am the chief pilot of Bhutan Airlines.

Today, the flight will be from Kathmandu to Paro. Flight time will be approximately 40 minutes. And today we hope to climb at least around, subject to traffic, around 33,000 or maybe 35,000 feet, and we hope for good weather on this route. And like we, maybe after 15 minutes or so, we might see Mount Everest, so as we go, I'll point them out to you. Thank you, welcome aboard. (upbeat music) - Cabin? - Yes sir? - We're just scanning the hand signals on the right, thank you. (The cabin responds) Goodbye. (upbeat music) - Bhutan Air 774 will depart next (tower responds) Next to the entire plane, the traveling companion is 02 Bhutan Air 774. (Chenga speaks in a low voice) Sure, I said.

Next to the entire plane is a joint flight: 02 Bhutan Air 774. Are we free to reach Paro, Gulf 34872708? This ground departure, Smoke 2510 Bhutan Air 774. (Aircraft engine roar) Checklist before takeoff. - Good. - Flight controls? - Check. - Check. Flight instruments? - Check. - Verification, briefing? - Confirmed. - Fin adjustment? (Chenga speaks in a low voice) V1, VR, V2, flexible temperature? - 1-2-7, 1-2-7, 1-40-8. - That? - Flex 50. - 1-2-7, 1-2-7, 1-4-8, flex 5-0. ATC, ready. ECAM note? - I do not know who. - Below 90. - Today we are lucky. Fortunately, there is not much traffic, but

most

of the time, due to traffic conditions and parking stalls, we sometimes end up waiting al

most

45 minutes or at least an hour.

We may end up waiting so long, but today we are lucky. - Bhutan Air 774 lines up at 02. - Lines up at 02, Bhutan Air 774. (upbeat music) (plane engine roar) So our backs are all green. (audio from tower) (copilot speaking) - Track 02, confirm. (audio from the tower] Cabin crew? - Alerted. (Copilot speaks) - We are ready. (Cheng and copilot speak) - Gaskets? - Ignition. - Checklist before takeoff? - Ready. - Okay, ready. (upbeat music) - Bhutan Air 774, clear (instructions off) Runway 02, clear for takeoff - Take this (speech off) Clear for takeoff, Runway 02, Bhutan Air 774. - Are you ready - Stabilized? (engine throttle plan) (tower audio) - Check we're all ready (aircraft engine noise) - 3-1 (airplane engine chugging) All systems power up - Yes, check (audio from tower) tower) - (speaking softly) Bhutan Air 774 (speaking softly) - Bhutan Air 774 Continue climbing to flight level, 2-7-0 Climb - Correcting plan level 2-7-0-8 Bhutan.

Air 774. (upbeat music) - Entry level junction Bhatan Air 774 - Junction 8,300 Bhutan Air 774. - Bhutan 774 identified - Between Kathmandu and New Delhi. Almost the 10 highest mountains in the

world

, except K2. - In the center, right between... in less than two hours, you can almost see the 10 highest mountains in the

world

. So exactly what's left of me is Cho Oyu. That is the sixth highest mountain in the world. And you can see a pointed peak there with some snow being removed from it. That's Everest. That is the highest point around Mount Everest. The height is measured at 8,850 meters.

And right near Mount Everest you see another mountain. That's the Lhotse. It is supposed to be the fourth highest mountain in the world, Mount Lhotse. And the height of Mount Lhotse is 8,516 meters. The last one you see is Mount Makalu. That's number five, the fifth tallest mountain in the world. And the height of Mount Makalu is 8,463 meters. (upbeat music) About twenty years ago, we used to find that this area had a lot of snow. Lots of snow between this Himalayan mountain range. But as you can see, we're not seeing much snow now. Unfortunately, I think that clearly shows that global warming is playing a big role here. (upbeat music) - It's a 40 minute flight.

This is very nice. This is like a chicken pot pie, very delicious. Health. - I would like to welcome you on board. - Wow. - This is something only yours. - Wow, how nice, thank you very much. - This is a welcome gift to welcome you to the city. - Wow, look at this. It says: "Bhutan Airlines welcomes you on board." Beautiful cake. Let's enjoy this cake together with the whole crew. The captain, first officer. You're very kind. Let's share with everyone later when we land in Paro. - Of course sir. - Yeah? Well done! Excellent.

Thank you so much. (soft music) - There is the mountain of Bhutan. The one on the left is Jomolhari, the second highest mountain in Bhutan. - Oh! - Yes, and slightly to the right is Jitchu Drake. Then we have Masangang, then there is Balonchista. Sam, so what are we going to do now? We have about 14 miles left to go and then we will have the picture. Normally, once we have the image, we always turn off this GPWS system. Because it is usually a known standard. We're supposed to follow the instructions of what... That means we're close to the mountains.

Since we have the visual, we always turn it off. (beep) - GPWS disabled? - Yes. (plane engine roar) (beep) Once you push it, the GPWS will drop. (mechanical moans) Slow down. (plane engine roar) Bhutan Air 774. - Bhutan Air 774 (instructions off). - So the airport is right behind this. Right behind this cloud. So what we'll do is land on runway 3-3. Sam, our viewer is just over the hill, right over there. The reason we had to keep this scope is simply to pick up the signal. Typically, the spectator is right on the airfield next to the runway.

Here, to catch the signal, the concept people go quickly to catch the signal. We are right on top of the hill and the airfield is just behind the hill. - Good. - So what we are doing is trying to lose altitude and trying to fly between the valleys. And then our goal is... You can see there's a bridge there. - Yes. - That's where we aim and look for about 12,000 feet. And we call this confluence because this is where two rivers of Thimphu and Paro meet. So we head towards the bridge, and then we will make a slight left turn and head towards the airfield.

You can see the airfield right now. Now you don't see it. You will see the airfield only at the last minute. Only at the last moment will you be able to see there, because of the hills. - Ah, he's hiding. - It's hidden, yes. - Yes. - Let's do it, the landing checklist. - Landing checklist. Cabin crew? - He advised. - Cabin crew. - He advised. - Self-push? - Speed. - Automatic brakes? ECAM MEMORY? - Stable. - And I'm a Buddhist, so I have to pray to God. And we have many monasteries here. Can you see that there are many monasteries here?

There, a monastery there, a monastery and one down here. We have many monasteries here. (roar of the airplane engine) - 2,500. - Bhutan Air 774 (speaking in a low voice). (plane engine roar) (mechanical whir) - We have a... you can see there's another monastery here. There is one more monastery there, there is Paro Taktsang. It is a very popular monastery. And, further to the left, you can see another monastery. (plane engine roar) (solemn music) - 1,000. - Flight, stabilized. - 500. - 500. - 200. - 50. - 40, 30, 20, delay, delay, delay, delay. - Spoilers. GUSB? It's already inside. (plane engine roar) (Co-pilot speaking quietly) (Audio from tower) (Mechanical clicking) (Audio from tower) (upbeat music) - I could never dream of landing at Paro, the most challenging airport in the world.

I just want to know, did I hear that only captains can land at this airport? - Yes, only captains are allowed here. - Only captains are allowed. - Yes, captains are allowed, and it will take a minimum of eight to ten years to qualify for captains. - Eight to 10 years for first officers. - Minimum. - become captain to land at this airport. - Yes, that's minimal. - I also heard that there are only about 15 certified and qualified captains to land here. - Approximately we have local pilots, about 15, approximately 15 local pilots. - Exciting. It's exciting, really exciting.

Until the last moment, you turn and see the track. - Welcome to Bhutan. - Incredible, thank you sir, thank you. - I am sure that more than landing, I am sure that you will also enjoy Bhutan. - Thank you very much for the cake everyone. It is so amazing and such an honor to come to the beautiful country of Bhutan. (speaking a foreign language) (clapping) - It's a beautiful cake. (speaking a foreign language) (powerful music) - I'm already watching planes, 10 minutes after landing. This is the beautiful Paro International Airport. From this point of view here, very high, you can see the entire terminal.

Beautiful day, and you can also see da tzong, which is like a palace museum of Paro, and then you can see the snow-capped mountains. (plane taking off) (birds singing) (plane engine roar) (whistle) (ding) (bang)