Qamdo Bamda Airport

Situated at the Banda Prairie and the West bank of Yuqu River in a narrow valley in Qamdo Prefecture, Qamdo Bamda Airport is known as "the world's farthest airport away from the downtown", "the world's longest runway(5,500 m)" and "the world's worst climate" in Eastern Tibet. Qamdo Bamda Airport is the second-highest airport in the world with an elevation of 4,334 m above sea level. Currently, you can fly to Qamdo from Lhasa, Chengdu, Chongqing, Tianjin, and Anhui Fuyang, or vice versa.

Qamdo Town is located in high mountains and deep ravines. No matter whether you come here from Lhasa or Chengdu by road, there are more than 1,300 kilometers, which takes several days on rugged mountain roads. The completion of the Banda airport in Qamdo provides great convenience for travelers who want to visit the scenic spots in Qamdo such as Ranwu Lake, Midui Glacier, etc.

• English Name：Qamdo Bamda Airport (Qamdo Bangda Airport/Changdu Bangda Airport)
• Chinese Name: 昌都邦达机场
• IATA: BPX
• ICAO: ZUBD
• Airport type: Public
• Location: Bamda, Baxoi County, Tibet A.R.
• Major connecting cities: Lhasa, Chengdu, Chongqing, Tianjin and Anhui Fuyang

The Topography and Climate of Qamdo Bamda Airport

Qamdo Bamda Airport is located in Hengduan Mountains and in the deep mountains. It’s also a plateau airport with an elevation of 4,334 m above sea level. Such topography would affect the climate greatly. At Qamdo Bamda Airport, the wind speed exceeds more than 30m per second in winter and the temperature drops down to 20 degrees centigrade below zero in winter and spring. The oxygen content at the airport is only 50 percent of that at sea level. Taking off and landing in such a condition requires the length of the runway. Therefore, Qamdo Bamda Airport has the longest runway in the world with a runway of 5,500 meters long and 45 meters wide.

History

The Qamdo Bangda Airport was completed successfully in August 1978. Consequently, it received national acceptance as well as a 100% quality pass. Since then, Qamdo Bangda Airport was proudly acclaimed as an excellent project by the Aviation Industry.

Qamdo Bamda Airport was formerly China's highest airport. But, on 16 September 2013, Doecheng Yading Airport surpassed it with its height of 4411 meters. In 2007, the expansion of Bangda Airport was started and it estimated a total investment of around 270 million Yuan. In 2008, several other main constructions at the airport were planned. That included a runway, drainage enclosure, station site and many more. Later, the airport demanded terminal area power engineering and a construction project for air traffic control.

Tips to Transport to Qamdo Bangda Airport

The Qamdo Bamda Airport is around 136 kilometers away from the nearest Qamdo Town and it takes around 2.5 hours to drive. Due to this distance, Qamdo Bamda Airport is also being called the loneliest airport in the world. You can take the airport shuttle bus or hire a taxi to the town. From Qamdo Town, you can take the shuttle bus to the airport at the base station of civil aviation. There is a regular bus every hour and the ticket price is 60 yuan. A taxi ride is about 120 yuan per person.

Flights that are Directly Served at Qamdo Bangda Airport

Qamdo Bamda Airport does not have international routes yet. Now, it has successfully been opened to 5 domestic routes from Qamdo to other cities in China: Chengdu, Lhasa, Chongqing, Tianjin, and Anhui Fuyang. Qamdo does have less frequent air schedules so tickets to Qamdo are difficult to get, especially during the peak tourist season. Among the 5 domestic routes, Chongqing and Chengdu are most widely preferred if you plan to Qamdo. This is because these cities allow more frequent domestic and international routes. It would take only 2 hours to reach Qamdo, Tibet.

Lhasa Qamdo Flights

Lhasa is located at the heart of Tibet. It is around 1100 kilometers from Lhasa Gonggar Airport to the Northeast side of the Qamdo area. There are 2 routes by road from Lhasa to Qamdo. The first route you can travel through the National Highway G317 and G109 going north and you will pass Nagqu along the way. The second route is in the south through National Highway G214 and G318. This route shows the beautiful landscape of Nyingchi that you can enjoy it along the way. But, it would take almost 3 days to drive from Lhasa to Qamdo through both routes or vise-versa.

Qamdo Bamda Airport has a direct flight operating from Lhasa to Qamdo every day. Tourists who visit Lhasa can take a flight from there to Qamdo directly. The flight takes only 1.5 hours to reach Qamdo. It is more convenient and time-saving than driving for 3 consecutive days.

Lhasa to Qamdo Flight Schedule

Qamdo to Lhasa Flight Schedule

Chengdu Qamdo Flights

Chengdu is the most important gateway to enter Tibet. Comparing with Beijing or Shanghai, Chengdu Shuangliu International Airport has more frequent routes to Tibet. Chengdu serves around 30 flights or more from Chengdu to Lhasa, Nyingchi, Shigatse, and Qamdo. And, there're many international routes to cities like London, L.A., Seoul, and Paris in Chengdu. So it's highly recommended to take a flight to Qamdo from Chengdu. Usually, there is 1 flight from Chengdu to Qamdo every day of the week. The total distance from Chengdu to Qamdo is around 769 kilometers, which takes around 1.5 hours to complete the route by flight.

Chengdu to Qamdo Flight Schedule

Qamdo to Chengdu Flight Schedule

Chongqing Qamdo Flights

The Chongqing - Jiangbei International Airport is the National hub airport in China. It operates around 258 routes, both domestic and international. Tibet Airlines has provided a non-stop flight from Chongqing to Qamdo, which frequently served every day. There are 922 kilometers between Chongqing and Qamdo and it takes around 2 hours to reach the destination.

Chongqing to Qamdo Flight Schedule

Qamdo to Chongqing Flight Schedule

Other Flights

Now, Tianjin does not have any direct flights to Qamdo Bamda Airport. But there are connecting flights that transfer to Chengdu or Chongqing.

Tianjin Qamdo Flights Schedule

Anhui Fuyang Qamdo Flights Schedule