New Terminal 3 at Lhasa Gonggar Airport

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New Terminal 3 at Lhasa Gonggar Airport opened becoming the largest of its kind in the Tibet Autonomous Region, it was put into operation on Saturday 07 August 2021.

The airport situated at an elevation of 3,570 meters is Tibet's largest aviation hub and one of the highest airports in the world. Construction began on the new terminal in late 2017 and scheduled flight operations will begin 09 August 2021.  The total cost of the 88,000-square-meter terminal, its 21-stand parking apron and also the supporting construction of air traffic control, communication and airfreight facilities is more than U$603 million.

The uniquely and attractively designed terminal has a likeness to the traditional Tibetan tents used for gatherings during festivals and celebratory occasions.  The overall design features diverse Tibetan cultural elements and its roof is painted in Tibetan gold and styled to the shape of a lotus.  Additionally, it features giant skylights and glass curtain walls allowing passengers to enjoy the blue sky, abundant sunshine and stunning scenery of this region.

Tibet Airlines' flight TV 9815, Xiamen Airlines and Chengdu Airlines are the 2 airlines to schedule their first flights after its inauguration. Now 10 airlines serve the airport, including Air China and West Air which are scheduled to transfer all of their flight operations to the new terminal from August 9.

Spanning a total area of about 88,000 square meters, Terminal 3 is a two-and-a-half-storey building, with the upper floor for departures, the middle for arrivals, and the ground complete with a reception area, baggage claim and sorting halls and a long-distance flight waiting hall.  The new terminal has a parking apron with 21 aircraft stands, 40 check-in counters, 22 security channels, and 20 boarding gates. Most of the jet bridges are dual-channel ones to split departing and arriving passengers to improve efficiency of the flow management.

The Gonggar Airport, which serves the regional capital of Lhasa, has flight connections with 62 cities via 114 routes to date, clocking more than 4.5 million passenger trips in 2019.  With the new terminal, the high altitude airport is expected to see an annual throughput of nine million passenger trips and 80,000 metric tons of cargo by 2025, according to CAAC.

In addition to the new terminal, the region also commenced opening of the Lhasa - Nyingchi Railway, which recorded more than 106,000 passenger trips in its first month of operation.

Tibet, opening the first flight route in 1965, boasts a safe flight record lasting 56 years. According to CAAC, the plateau region has launched a total of 130 air routes with 62 cities linked by flights so far, and registered a total of 5.15 million passenger trips in 2020 through the airports across the region.

Book a flight to Lhasa and enjoy the beauty of this mystical city and its surrounding cultural heritages!