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Aviation

Flying over Tibet was deemed impossible in the past due to the high altitude. Today, it has become the fastest transport means of getting in and out of Tibet. Aviation services began on March 1, 1965 when a plane of Southwest Airlines succeeded in flying from Chengdu to Lhasa. At present, it has regular flights shuttling between Lhasa and cities like Beijing, Chengdu, Chongqing, Xi'an, Xining, Guangzhou, Shanghai, Kunming and Zhongdian. There are also regular flights between Qamdo and Lhasa, as well as a link to Kathmandu, capital of Nepal. Southwest Airlines set up a branch company in Lhasa in August 2004. The branch now has five Airbus 319 and two Boeing 757 aircraft. Tibet's aviation business has entered an exciting new period of development.

 

On July 28, 2003, the Southern Aviation Co. opened the Guangzhou-Deqen-Lhasa flight route, a move that broke a 38-year monopoly in Tibet. Four Boeing 757s now traverse the route. Given the special conditions unique to the plateau, the planes have additional oxygen supply and pressure systems.

 

In the past 10 years, both passenger and goods transportation has increased at an annual average of 13.3 percent. CAAC operates more than 40 flights weekly, with the number of passengers carried rising from some 4,000 in the beginning to over 800,000 in 2004. By March 1, 2005, the number of successful flights had reached more than 50,000, transporting a total of some seven million passengers and 150,000 tons of mail and materials. The same period also saw successful performance in the urgent transport of materials to disaster-stricken areas in Tibet.

 

 

     Timetable of Scheduled Flights

(CAAC Information: 0891--6833446)

 

Flight Route

Flight No.

Schedule

Takeoff Time

Landing Time

Fare (RMB)

Lhasa-Beijing

SZ4111

14

1025

1510

1940

Beijing-Lhasa

SZ4112

47

0815

1330

1940

Lhasa-Chengdu

SZ4402

1-7

0930

1115

1270

Lhasa-Chengdu

a340

1-7

0940

1130

1270

Lhasa-Chengdu

SZ4444

26

1420

1600

1200

Lhasa-Chongqing

SZ4420

5

0955

1200

1300

Lhasa-Xining

SZ4218

347

1330

1510

1290

Lhasa-Xi’an

SZ4218

347

1330

1705

1320

Chengdu-Lhasa

SZ4401

1-7

0648

0830

1200

Chengdu-Lhasa

SZ4403

1-7

0658

0848

1200

Chongqing-Lhasa

SZ4419

5

0700

0930

1300

Xi’an-Lhasa

SZ4217

347

1030

1250

1320

Xining-Lhasa

SZ4217

347

0855

1250

1290

Lhasa-Kathmandu

SZ407

246

1015

1115

1980

Kathmandu-Lhasa

SZ408

246

1215

1315

USD238

Guangzhou-Lhasa

SZ4312

26

0800

1250

2140

Lhasa-Guangzhou

SZ4311

26

1325

1730

2140

Chengdu-Qamdo

SZ4409

4

0720

0820

720

Qamdo-Chengdu

SZ4410

7

1115

1215

660

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