Airports in Tibet

To save more time for sightseeing in Tibet, a large number of tourists prefer to choose the air transportation rather than the railway transportation while planning a Tibet tour. Currently, there are five airports in Tibet open to tourists, including Lhasa Gonggar Airport, Nyingchi Minlin Airport, Qamdo Bangda Airport, Shigatse Peace Airport and Ngari Gunsa Airport. As a professional Tibet tour operator, Tibet Tour would like to provide relevant airport information for tourists interested in the air transportation to Tibet.

Airports in Tibet – Lhasa Gonggar Airport

Among all the five civil airports in Tibet, Lhasa Gonggar Airport is the largest one and also the most famous one. The Beijing-Chnegdu-Lhasa flight was the sole flight at the very first period after the Lhasa Gonggar Airport was put into operation. A series of flights between Lhasa and few domestic cities were opened to passengers continuously, including one international flight between Lhasa and Kathmandu (the capital of Nepal). It only takes around 70 minutes to fly to Lhasa from Kathmandu. In addition, the flights to Lhasa from Beijing, Guangzhou, Shanghai, Chengdu and Chongqing provide great convenience for tourists taking these cities as the transit city of their Tibet tour. Recently, two new flights were opened between Lhasa and Hangzhou and Tianjin.

Airports in Tibet – Nyingchi Milin Airport

There are only three airlines were opened to Nyingchi Milin Airport, including the Lhasa-Nyingchi flight, Chongqing-Nyingchi flight and Chengdu-Nyingchi flight. It should be noted that Nyingchi is highly praised as the Switzerland on Tibet Plateau for its breathtaking natural scenery and Nyingchi has been a must-visit place for tourists especially interested in the fascinating natural view. Tourists planning to fly to Nyingchi from Chengdu or Chongqing should note that the flight is not available everyday and it is necessary to check accurate flight information from the airlines while planning this trip. Generally, It takes about 8 hours driving to drive to Nyingchi from Lhasa, but it only takes around 1 hour to fly to Nyingchi from Lhasa.

Airports in Tibet – Ngari Gunsa Airport

The Lhasa-Ngari flight is the sole flight opened to tourists in Ngari Gunsa Airport. As we all known, Gunsa is quite far away from Lhasa and it takes about three days driving to get to Gunsa from Ngari. But it only takes about 2 hours to fly to Gunsa from Lhasa. This flight provides great convenience for tourists eager to witness the unique plateau landscape on Ngari Plateau but have short vacation.

Airports in Tibet – Shigatse Peace Airport

Shigatse Peace Airport has flight to Chengdu. Tourists willing to visit Mt. Everest Base Camp could fly to Shigatse from Chengdu directly if you've been to Lhasa and don't have time to visit it again. Be different from the other airports in Tibet, there is no flight between Lhasa and Shigatse for it only takes few hours driving to Shigatse from Lhasa.

Airports in Tibet – Qamdo Bangda Airport

Currently, there is only one flight opened to tourists at Qamdo Bangda Airport, the Lhasa-Qamdo flight. The flight schedule is not fixed and tourists should check the correct flight information in advance. Actually, there are not so many scenic spots in Qamdo Prefecture compared to the other prefectures in Tibet. Therefore, only a few tourists know there is an airport in Qamdo.