The world's highest-altitude civilian airport has started operating in Sichuan provinve neighbouring Tibet, dramatically cutting travel time in the remote region in southwestern China.
Daocheng Yading Airport, located 4,411 meters above sea level in Daocheng county in Garzi Tibetan autonomous prefecture in Sichuan province, began operations yesterday.
The airport will reduce the traffic time between the county and provincial capital Chengdu from two days by bus to 65 minutes by plane, state-run news agency Xinhua reported.
The aerodrome became the world's highest civilian airport, replacing Bangda Airport in Qamdo in the Tibet Autonomous Region, which is 4,334 meters above sea level.
Situated 159 km from the Yading Nature Reserve in the eastern part of the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau, the airport came in two years time costing 1.58 billion yuan (USD 255 million) after it was approved in April 2011.
Initially, the Daocheng Yading Airport will have daily flights between Chengdu and Daocheng, with a one-way ticket fare of 1,600 yuan (USD 260).
Plans to open routes connecting the county to other major cities such as Guangzhou, Shanghai and Xi'an in 2014 are also in the offing.
