China Inaugurated World’s Highest Daocheng Yading Civilian Airport

The Daocheng Yading Airport was opened in China on Monday, becoming the highest-altitude civilian airport in the world. China has started flight operations at the world’s highest civilian airport in order to boost tourism and strengthen their economic growth.The airport is in Garzi, a restive and remote Tibetan region of south-western Sichuan province. At 4,411 m (14,472 ft) above sea level, Daocheng Yading is the world’s highest civilian airport, surpassing the previous record holder Qamdo Bamda Airport at 4,334 m (14,219 ft).

Construction started after the airport was approved in April 2011, with a total investment of 1.58 billion yuan (US$255 million). The airport was opened on 16 September 2013. The inaugural flight was Air China flight 4215 on an Airbus A319 from the provincial capital Chengdu, carrying 118 passengers. The opening of the airport cut the journey time between Daocheng and Chengdu to one hour, which previously required a two-day bus trip. Flights to Guangzhou, Shanghai, and Xi’an are planned for 2014.

The region is a gateway to Tibet, one that Beijing has sought to promote for tourism as way of tamping down dissent among the native Tibetan population and stabilizing the area through economic development. Beijing has peppered the region with airports that see little business and spent $3.68 billion building the world’s highest rail line over permafrost to Tibet’s capital, Lhasa.