Lhasa Gonggar Airport
Lhasa Gonggar Airport (IATA: LXA, ICAO: ZULS) is in Jiazhulin Town in Gonggar County, Shannan District, Tibet Autonomous Region. It is located on the south bank of the magnificent Yalu Tsangpo River at an altitude of 3,600 meters. It is one of the highest civil airports in the world. The Gonggar Airport covers a smaller area and operates fewer flights than most airports in the world. And there is only one terminal building with one entrance and one exit in the Gongga Airport.
IATA: LXA
ICAO: ZULS
Address: Jiazhulin Town in Gonggar County, Shannan District, Tibet Autonomous Region
Brief Introduction of Lhasa Gonggar Airport
Building an airport in Tibet, which is termed in flying parlance as going over a "hump" in the Tibetan Plateau, has gone through a process of trial and error through many hazardous air routes and several fatal accidents during World War II. The first airport was built in May 1956, in the southwest of Damxung County at a height of 4,200 metres (13,800 ft). An Ilyushin Il-12 and a Convair CV-240-401 were the first aircraft that landed at Damxung airport from the north and south. They thus broke the jinx of the "forbidden air zone", and this was acclaimed a feat. It took almost nine more years before the first Beijing-Chengdu-Lhasa air route became operational in 1965.
In 1965 the Gonggar Airport was constructed. Damxung Airport was decommissioned later and the Lhasa Aviation Office was moved from Damxung to Gonggar Airport. This established the Gonngar Airport as the second airport in Tibet. Over the years, with more expansion of the facilities, Gonggar became the domestic hub in the Tibetan Plateau connecting many other airports in Tibet.
Airport Description
It has an area of 25,000 square metres (6.2 acres) with the passenger handling facilities of ticketing office, the baggage collection beltways and visitors gallery on the first floor of the new terminal building, and the departure lounge on the second floor with shopping malls, kiosks and restaurants. There are four aero bridges (one two-way bridge and three single-way bridges) to facilitate passengers to board and disembark from the aircraft.[2] The airport began operation in 1965 with flights to Beijing and Chengdu commencing that March. Recent additions included the expansion of the existing terminal in 2004 and as a result the airport has the facility to check in 1,300 passengers per hour during peak hours.
International Flights to Lhasa
So far, there is only one international air route flying to Lhasa: Kathmandu - Lhasa. Geographically, Lhasa is only 603.5KM from Kathmandu. It takes only one and a half hours flying from Kathmandu to Lhasa. The air route is also considered to be one of the most beautiful routes in the world, as it flies over many famous peaks in the Himalayas, such as Mount Everest, Cancun Junga and Lhotse.
In summer, there are direct flights from Kathmandu to Lhasa every day, operated exclusively by Air China and Sichuan Airlines. During the off-season, the number of flights may be reduced.
Kathmandu-Lhasa flights schedule:
There is one flight from Kathmandu to Lhasa every day:
Sichuan Airlines 3U8720 takes off at 11:30am on Sunday, Monday, Wednesday and Friday, arriving at Lhasa Gonggar Airport at 15:10pm.
China Air CA408 takes off at 12:10am on Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday, and arriving at Lhasa
Lhasa Gonggar Airport Arrival
60KM from downtown Lhasa, it takes 1 - 1.5 hours travelling from the airport to the city. It costs 100 - 200 yuan by taxi. The shuttle bus, bound for the Civil Aviation Bureau at the foot of the Potala Palace, is parked only 5 meters from the exit. The ticket fare is only 30 yuan.
Asia Odyssey Travel works to provide you premium service. If you join in our tour, you can enjoy the free airport pick up and drop off.
