Ngari Gunsa Airport

Ngari Gunsa Airport is a grade 4D class dual-use airport in Ngari prefecture, Tibet Autonomous region, located in the southwest of Shiquanhe Town(狮泉河镇), the government seat of Ngari. With an altitude of 4271 meters only after Daocheng Yading Airport in Sichuan and Qamdo Bangda Airport in Tibet, it is the third highest airport in the world. It began construction in May 2007, completed in May 2010, and opened on July 1, 2010.

Basic Information

Chinese Name 阿里昆莎机场
English Name Ngari Gunsa Airport
IATA Code  NGQ
ICAO Code ZUAL
Airfield Grade 4D
Address Gunsa Township, Gar County, Ngari, Tibet
Terminal Area 3900 square meters
Runway 4500 meters
Altitude 4274 meters above sea level
Completion Time May 2010
Airport Type Dual-Use Airport(Military and Civil)

Domestic Services

Airlines Destination
Tibet Airlines(TV) Lhasa, Chengdu
China Eastern Airlines(MU) Xi’an, Kashgar
Lucky Air(8L) Urumqi, Kashgar

Location of Ngari Gunsa Airport

Ngari Gunsa Airport, located in Gunsa Township of Gar County, 45 kilometers southwest of Shiquanhe Town in the Ngari Prefecture of Tibet Autonomous region, officially opened on July 1, 2010. This is another important air passage into and out of Tibet after Lhasa Gonggar Airport, Qamdo Bangda Airport, Nyingchi Mainling Airport. Airport decoration highlights the ancient Zhang Zhung culture(象雄文化) in Ngari Prefecture. The airport runway is 4500 meters long and 60 meters wide at the altitude of 4274 meters above sea level. It can meet the take-off and landing requirements of Airbus A319 and other plateau models. The building area of the terminal is about 3900 square meters.

Construction History

In 2006, Planning for Ngari Gunsa Airport began.
In 2007, began to construct, the construction of the airport was proceeding very smoothly.
At the end of 2008, the runway, terminal, staff apartment buildings and public facilities of Ngari Gunsa Airport were completely constructed.
On January 13, 2010, the terminal preparation group was established.
On March 27, 2010, southwest regional administration of civil aviation approved the official establishment of Ngari terminal.
On May 27, 2010, Ngari Gunsa Airport tested flight.
On July 1, 2010, Ngari Gunsa Airport was opened officially, Chengdu Shuangliu Airport-Lhasa Gonggar Airport-Ngari Gunsa Airport airline was opened.
On April 29, 2012, the regular flights, Xi’an Airport-Kashgar Airport-Ngari Airport, were opened.

Significance of Constructing Ngari Gunsa Airport

With the construction of Ngari Gunsa Airport, Mt. Kailash and Lake Manasarovar are accessed by air. Ngari owns numerous featured natural scenery and cultural sites, but nothing is more influential than Mount Kailash and Lake Manasarovar. In the year of the Horse of Tibetan Calendar, Buddhists from Sichuan, Qinghai, Yunnan and other places come to worship the “Holy Mountain” and “Sacred Lake”.

Ngari Prefecture, with an average elevation of 4500 meters, is located in western Tibet, 1600 kilometers away from Lhasa. The total area of the region is more than 300,000 square kilometers, is the place where the Himalayas, Gangdis Mountains and Karakoram Mountains gather, known as “the top of the thousand mountains, the source of ten thousand rivers”, “the roof of the roof of the world”. Due to the restriction of traffic conditions, the tourism industry in Ngari Prefecture has been developing slowly for a long time. However, after Ngari Gunsa Airport was finished, the economy and tourism of Ngari developed fast.

Mount Kailash is a peak in the Gangdise Mountains, which forms part of the Transhimalaya in the Tibetan Autonomous Region of China. The mountain is located near Lake Manasarovar, close to the source of some of the longest Asian rivers: the Indus, Sutlej, Brahmaputra, and Karnali also known as Ghaghara (a tributary of the Ganges) in India. Mount Kailash is considered to be sacred in four religions: Bon, Buddhism, Hinduism and Jainism.

Tours including Mount Kailash and Lake Manasarovar.
19 Days Tibet Pilgrimage Tour with Mount Kailash and Mountain Everest
15 Days Tibet-Nepal Overland Tour with Saga Dawa Festival and Mount Kailash
11 Days Tibet Kailash Pilgrimage Tour by Helicopter from Nepal
15 Days Kailash and Manasarova Small Group Tour
13 Days Tibet Kailash Pilgrimage Tour from Kathmandu

Ngari Gunsa Airport Flight Schedule(Direct Flights)

Flight No. Airlines Departs Arrives Duration Arrival Airport Frequency Full Price
MU2132 China Eastern Airlines 11:30 13:15 1h45m Kashgar Airport Tuesday
1990￥ Economy Class/
3580￥ Business Class
8L9682 Lucky Air 12:40 14:30 1h50m Kashgar Airport Friday
1990￥ Economy Class/
3580￥ Business Class
TV6007 Tibet Airlines 11:00 00:15 13h15m(stop over in Lhasa) Xi’an Xianyang Airport Every day 4600￥ Economy Class
ZH3929 Shenzhen Airlines 11:00 00:15 13h15m(stop over in Lhasa) Xi’an Xianyang Airport Every day 4600￥ Economy Class
MU2132 China Eastern Airlines 11:00 18:35 7h05m(stop over in Kashgar) Xi’an Xianyang Airport Tuesday 4630￥ Economy Class
TV6007 Tibet Airlines 11:00 12:55 1h55m Lhasa Airport Every Day
2640￥ Economy Class/
5997￥ Business Class
ZH3929 Shenzhen Airlines 11:00 12:55 1h55m Lhasa Airport Every Day
2640￥ Economy Class/
5997￥ Business Class
8L9682 Lucky Air 12:40 16:55 4h15m(stop over in Kashgar) Urumqi Diwopu Airport Friday 2590￥ Economy Class

Tips:

1. The above information is for reference, if any change is based on actual information.

2. If you wan to book ticket and arrange a Tibet tour, please contact us, Email: contact@YunnanExploration.com; Tel: +86-871-63511469.

3. In the above tables, just direct flights are listed. There are also transfer flights. Besides, the flights could be adjusted according to high season and off season. More flight information, you can search on the internet.

4. The ticket price is changing, sometimes there are discounts, while sometimes not.