Lhasa Gonggar Airport - History

History

Building an airport in Tibet, which is termed in flying parlance as flying over a "Hump" in the Tibetan Plateau has gone through a process of trial and error through many hazardous air routes and several fatal accidents during World War II. The first airport was built in May 1956, in the southwest of Damxung County at a height of 4,200 metres (13,800 ft). Russian I1-12 and CV-240-401 were the first aircraft that landed at Damxung airport from the north and south directions and thus broke the jinx of the "forbidden air zone", and this was acclaimed a feat. It took almost nine more years before the first Beijing-Chengdu-Lhasa air route became operational in 1965. It was in 1965 itself that the Gonggar Airport was also constructed. Damxung Airport was decommissioned later (converted into a race course) and the Lhasa Aviation Office was moved from Damxung airport to Gonggar Airport. This established the Gonngar Airport as the second airport in Tibet. Over the years, with more expansion of the airport facilities, Gonggar became the domestic hub in the Tibetan Plateau connecting many other airports in Tibet.