More flights to Lhasa, capital of the Tibet Autonomous Region, will be opened in July and Aug., according to the southwestern branch company of Air China, China's largest airlines.

The two months are the gold time for tourism in Tibet, and arrivals will rise dramatically during the period.

The company decided to increase two more flights from Chengdu, capital of neighboring Sichuan Province, to the Tibetan capital. It will open another two more flights to meet demand in Aug.

The company is the exclusive operator of Chengdu-Tibet flights, and it hoped the planned flight increase will help alleviate the shortage of plane tickets on this flight route.

Booming tourism in Tibet has greatly increased the number of visitors heading to "the Roof of the World," together with rising trips by business people and those going to see relatives in Tibet as more people outside Tibet go for business in the region.

But due to unfavorable weather both in Chengdu and Lhasa, flights are often delayed and in peak times passengers cannot buy tickets unless they book a week earlier.

Because of geographic reasons, the airport in Chengdu is prone to heavy fog while the airport in Lhasa is likely to be hit by sandy weather or covered by low-altitude clouds. The bad weather delayed flights or forced arriving flights to go back, worsening the shortage of tickets.
 
(Xinhua News Agency July 12, 2004)