A China Southwest Airlines Boeing 757-200 aircraft landed at the Gonggar Airport in Lhasa, capital of the Tibet Autonomous Region, at 1:15 p.m. Sunday, marking the successful maiden flight between Lhasa and Kunming, capital of southwest China's Yunnan Province.

The Kunming-Diqing-Lhasa air route is the first to link Tibet with Yunnan and the 10th air route leading to the "roof of the world".

The SA4429/30 flight will fly once every week, sources said.

Local tourism sources said that the air service is expected to help boost the development of Tibet's tourism industry and the region's opening to the outside world.

(People’s Daily 04/16/2001)