Thinley Namgay

To help athletes and officials from all sports federations and associations, the Bhutan Olympic Committee (BOC) and the Drukair Corporation Limited (DCL) renewed their Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) yesterday in Thimphu for another 30 months.

The new MoU will be effective from July 1, this year, to December 31, 2023.  DCL has agreed to respond to all the booking requests received from BOC and give priority to ensure that the BOC team members travel together.  DCL will support BOC to secure the cargo services through their networks.

As a special condition, DCL will provide a 50 percent discount to BOC on airfares and DCL destinations for the months of January, February, July, and August. In other months, DCL will ensure a 30 percent discount.

All BOC officials and athletes will be entitled to 10kg additional extra baggage.  Moreover, DCL will transport 150kg of sports equipment and items annually for BOC.

As per the MoU, BOC will regard DCL as an official carrier but BOC is not allowed to approach other national airlines without a consent letter from DCL.

“BOC shall ensure good quality branding and visibility for DCL, and that the brand name and logo are visible in all media and merchandise, wherever applicable.  BOC shall ensure that DCL is covered in all the events of BOC,” the MoU stated.

The MoU also mentioned that all sports events organised by divisions under BOC’s umbrella shall promote DCL as the official travel partner for any events.

The MoU was signed by DCL’s chief executive officer, Tandi Wangchuk, and BOC’s administration and finance division chief, Nim Dorji.

Tandi Wangchuk said that as part of corporate social responsibility and nation-building, DCL was helping BOC in the best possible ways. “The MoU renewal is an indication that it is benefiting both DCL and BOC.”

Nim Dorji said that since the first MoU with DCL in 2016, around 2,000 athletes and officials under BOC had availed the Drukair services.