By Air
The three airports in Tibet are: Lhasa Gonggar, Chamdo Bamda and Nyingchi.
Lhasa Gonggar Airport is located 100 km (around 62 miles) south of Lhasa City. Presently, it serves 12 routes, one of which is international, between Lhasa and Katmandu, the capital city of the Kingdom of Nepal. Airplanes shuttle along the domestic routes between Lhasa and Beijing, Chengdu, Guangzhou, Shanghai, Hong Kong, Chongqing, Xian, Xining, Kunming, Chamdo and Diqing Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture where the picturesque Shangri-La County lies. Tourists can start from any of these cities to travel to Tibet. Among these routes, flights between Lhasa and Chengdu are the most frequent.
Gonggar Airport is equipped with first-class facilities. Tourists can get necessary luggage service and passenger service at any time. Moreover, when leaving Tibet, in this airport tourists can buy in advance tickets for flights from Chengdu. From the airport, tourists can take either a bus or taxi to Lhasa City. The 2-hour-long bus trip costs about CNY 20, while a taxi costs more than CNY 150.
Chamdo Bamda Airport is a civil airport that has one of the longest runways in the world as well as being the highest airport. There are ten flights every week from Bangda Airport to Lhasa and Chengdu. However, Bamda Airport is located far from cities and is not easy to get to. Because of bad weather conditions, flights are frequently delayed, which is very inconvenient.
Nyingchi, the third airport in Tibet, began operation on September 1st, 2006. At present, a roundtrip flight operates every Wednesday and Friday morning between Nyingchi and Chengdu. In 2007, another three aircrafts will be increased and the flights will be raised to five shifts from the late March. Nyingchi Airport may become many people's first stop in Tibet as it is less than 3,000 meters (around 9,843 feet) high, allowing people to prepare themselves gradually for higher altitudes. Meanwhile, the flight makes it possible to enjoy firstly the fantastic scenery of southeastern Tibet prior to the Lhasa tour.
See More: Flight Schedule of Nyingchi Airport, Flight Schedule of Chamdo Airport
