Air Travel

In line with the government's ambitious infrastructure plans for Tibet, there are now five airports, with another one, Nagqu Dagring, due to open in 2015. When finished, Nagqu Dagring Airport will be the world's highest airport, at an altitude of 4,436 meters (14,554 feet). Currently, nine domestic airlines fly into Gonggar Airport, about 95 km (59 miles) from Lhasa, connecting Tibet with most major Chinese mainland cities and Hong Kong. Air China connects Kathmandu and Lhasa. The airport is renowned for having terrible facilities and humorless guards, so don't expect much. Tibet also has smaller airports in Chamdo, Shigatse, Nyingchi, and Ngari prefectures. These have frequent flights to Lhasa and less frequent flights to other nearby Chinese cities. Security on flights bound for Lhasa is much tighter than on other internal flights—expect to be thoroughly searched.