Golmud Airport is located in the desert which is about 20 kilometers away from the northwest of Golmud City in Qinghai Province. With an altitude of 2842 meters, Golmud Airport is about 12 kilometers away from the downtown of Golmud City. With a length of 4800 meters, the runway in Golmud Airport is the longest one among those in the civil airports in China.
The construction of Golmud Airport was started in 1969 and completed in 1971. To support the development of the civil aviation industry in northwestern China, the government invested 0.1 billion RMB in the upgrade and expansion of Golmud Airport in December 2002. The upgrade and expansion projects in Golmud Airport were completed in the end of 2004. Since then the Golmud Airport allows Boeing 757-200 type planes' take-off and landing.
To improve the guarantee capacity, Golmud Airport suspended the air service for the expansion project in 2003. The expanded Golmud Airport covers an area of 315.87 hectors. The concrete paved runway enjoys a length of 4800 meters, a width of 50 meters and a thickness of 48 meters. The parking apron covers 12,000 square meters, allows two B757-200 type planes parking at the same time. The Golmud-Xian-Xining-Qingdao flight was opened again on December 31st of the same year.
Flight No. |
Departure |
Stop |
Arrival |
Available Date |
MU2343 |
Golmud 15:20 |
Xian 17:25 |
Chengdu 21:20 |
Everyday |
MU2342 |
Chengdu 09:55 |
Xian 12:25 |
Golmud 14:30 |
Everyday |
MU2280 |
Golmud 15:00 |
-- |
Xian 16:00 |
Mon. Wed. Fri. Sun |
MU2279 |
Xian 13:20 |
-- |
Golmud 14:20 |
Mon. Wed. Fri. Sun |
Currently, the flight between Golmud and Lhasa has not been opened. Tourists visiting Golmud before the Tibet tour could enter into Tibet by train or by bus. All the trains leading to Lhasa will have a stop at Golmud. It takes only about 14 hours to finish the train journey between Golmud and Lhasa. Tourists planning to join the Tibet train tours from Golmud should note that it might be difficult to get the train ticket to Lhasa in the peak season during which period a large number of tourists would rush to Tibet by train. It is necessary to book the train ticket in advance, or your trip plan will possibly be disrupted.
For tourists making a Tibet tour from Golmud but failed to get the train ticket, enter into Tibet along the Qinghai-Tibet Highway will be the only choice if you don't want to change your plan. Actually, most sections of the Qinghai-Tibet Railway and Qinghai-Tibet Highway are in parallel. Tourists could also enjoy amazing natural landscape if you choose the Qinghai-Tibet Highway.