Airlines in Tibet

Currently, there are five airports put in service in Tibet, including Lhasa Gonggar AirportChamdo Bangda AirportNyingchi Mainling AirportNgari Gunsa Airport and Shigatse Peace Airport. There are domestic flights connecting Tibet with Chengdu, Xian, Beijing, Chongqing, Kunming, etc and only one direct international flight to Katmandu. Most airlines have operated flights to Tibet and here we introduce you the main airlines in Tibet.

1. Air China

Air China Limited is the flag carrier and one of the major airlines of the People’s Republic of China, with its headquarters in Shunyi District, Beijing. Air China’s flight operations are based at Beijing Capital International Airport. The Company’s network covered 39 countries and regions globally and 184 cities, including 66 international, 3 regional and 115 domestic cities. 

2. Tibet Airlines

Tibet Airlines is an airline with its corporate headquarters and registered office in Lhasa, Tibet Autonomous Region, China, and operates scheduled domestic flights out of Lhasa Gonggar Airport. It is the first airline based in Tibet and also the world’s first airline which bases its operations on the Roof of the World. The airline provides easy access to other parts of China and South Asia and has drawn up plans to fly directly to Europe.

3. West Air

West Air, is a low-cost airline based in New North Zone, Chongqing, China, operating a scheduled passenger network to 18 domestic destinations out of Chongqing Jiangbei International Airport and one international one to Changi Airport in Singapore. The airline is one of the four the founding members of the U-FLY Alliance.

4. Shenzhen Airlines

Shenzhen Airlines is an airline headquartered in Shenzhen Bao’an International Airport in Bao’an District, Shenzhen, Guangdong. It has been a member of Star Alliance since 2012, and is currently one of two Chinese airlines that is part of the global airline network along with Air China. The carrier operates a total of 137 domestic airport-pairs involving 58 Chinese airports, plus nine international routes. 

5. Sichuan Airlines

Sichuan Airlines Co., Ltd. is a Chinese airline based in Chengdu Shuangliu International Airport in Chengdu, Sichuan Province and it is also the largest airline in western China, operating mainly scheduled domestic and international flights out of Chengdu Shuangliu Airport, Chongqing Jiangbei International Airport and Kunming Changshui International Airport. 

6. China Eastern Airlines

China Eastern Airlines is China’s second-largest carrier by passenger numbers. It is a major Chinese airline operating international, domestic and regional routes. China Eastern airline offers airline flights to over worldwide 1000 destinations in 177 countries. In Tibet, it provides flights to and fro Lhasa, Shigatse and Ngari.

7. China Southern Airlines

Established on 1 July 1988, the airline became one of China’s “Big Three” airlines (alongside Air China and China Eastern Airlines), the world’s sixth-largest airline measured by passengers carried and Asia’s largest airline in fleet size. In Tibet, it provides service at the airports of Lhasa and Nyingchi.