Qamdo Bamda Airport (IATA: BPX, ICAO: ZUBD) (Chinese: 昌都邦达机场; pinyin: Chāngdū Bāngdá Jīchǎng), also known as Changdu Bangda Airport, located in Bamda, Qamdo, Tibet, China is the highest airport in the world, at an elevation of 4,334 metres (14,219 ft). It has the longest publicly used runway in the world, at 5,500 m (18,045 ft).
The low air density at this altitude makes a higher takeoff and landing true airspeed necessary, and therefore a longer runway. Also, the aircraft's engines produce less thrust at higher elevation than near sea-level.
The airport is 2.5 hours by mountain road from the county seat of Qamdo. The long commute is the result of no flat land closer to the city being available to construct an airport.
Visitors are warned before landing to move slowly on leaving the plane and that they may feel light headed or dizzy because of the thin air.
However, Qamdo Airport will surrender its title of being the highest airport in the world. China is planning to build the new Nagqu Dagring Airport at an elevation of 4,436 metres (14,554 ft). Construction is planned to start in 2011 and take three years to complete.
Read more about Qamdo Bamda Airport: Scheduled Services
Famous quotes containing the word airport:
“Airplanes are invariably scheduled to depart at such times as 7:54, 9:21 or 11:37. This extreme specificity has the effect on the novice of instilling in him the twin beliefs that he will be arriving at 10:08, 1:43 or 4:22, and that he should get to the airport on time. These beliefs are not only erroneous but actually unhealthy.”
—Fran Lebowitz (b. 1950)