Nyingchi Airport, the third civil airport in southwest China's
Tibet Autonomous Region, began operations when a Boeing 757 landed
on Friday.
The plane left Chengdu, capital of Sichuan Province, at 7:30
a.m. and arrived at Nyingchi Airport an hour and a half later,
according to flight captain Wei Yiqiang.
"The weather was fine, so the flight turned out to be much less
difficult than the test flight," Wei said.
A brief ceremony marking the opening was attended by Zhang
Qingli, secretary of the Tibet Autonomous Regional Committee of the
Communist Party of China (CPC), and Li Jun, deputy head of General
Administration of Civil Aviation of China (CAAC).
Cering Wangmo, a Tibetan woman, said it was the first aircraft
she had ever seen.
"I am considering making a trip to Chengdu by air sometime," she
said.
The flight sowed the seed of a dream in Lhaba Cering, a primary
school student. "I want to be a pilot. It must be great to fly a
plane."
Flights will be available every Friday between Chengdu and
Nyingchi, with a one-way fare costing 1,380 yuan, according to
AirChina Southwest Branch Company, the service provider.
Nyingchi Airport, the third civilian airport in Tibet after
Lhasa and Qamdo, has a 3,000-meter runway and is surrounded by
mountains. It was completed in April this year.
Built at a cost of 780 million yuan (US$96.18 million),
including investment by the General Administration of Civil
Aviation of China (CAAC), the airport is 2,949 meters above sea
level, lower than the other two civil airports, with a designed
annual passenger flow of 120,000.
Nyingchi Prefecture, covering 117,000 square kilometers and
bordering India and Myanmar, is known for its humid and mild
climate, scenery and rich natural resources.
About 120 kilometers from the Nyingchi Airport is the Yarlung
Zangbo River Grand Canyon, the world's largest canyon.
Because of its location, the airport is considered difficult to
fly into. Meteorological records show it will have about 100
operational days a year.
(Xinhua News Agency September 2, 2006)