Drukair (KB, Paro) has ordered two H130s (formerly Eurocopter EC130) from Airbus Helicopters (ECF, Marseilles) with deliveries scheduled for 2024.
The Bhutanese carrier will take the first helicopter in March 2024, followed by the second in September 2024.
The first of the pair will replace H130 A5-BHT (msn 8160), which crashed in March 2023, while the other will replace Drukair's only remaining H130. The state-owned airline incorporated the rotary-wing fleet following last year's merger with Royal Bhutan Helicopter Services, an operator which added the two H130s in 2015-2016.
Drukair will use the new H130s for passenger and cargo flights but also for medevac and firefighting missions. The Himalayan kingdom is notorious for its rugged topography, making land transportation difficult.
Drukair's fixed-wing fleet comprises three A319-100s, one A320-200N, and one ATR42-600. Drukair plans to convert one of the A319s into a freighter.
