Qamdo Bangda Airport guide

Qamdo Bamda Airport sits on the Bamda grassland in Baxoi County, in the east of the Tibet Autonomous Region. The ICAO code is ZUBD, and the Chinese name is Changdu Bangda Airport. At 4,334 metres above sea level, it is one of the highest commercial airports in the world. It held the title of the world's highest airport until Daocheng Yading Airport, at 4,411 metres, overtook it in September 2013.

The airport opened on 22 October 1994. Its original concrete runway was 5,500 metres long, and for more than two decades it was the longest runway used by commercial flights anywhere. Thin air at this altitude reduces engine and wing performance, so aircraft need higher takeoff and landing speeds and a longer ground run. A newer 4,500-metre asphalt runway now handles traffic. Weather damage forced runway repairs in 2007 and 2013.

The airport lies well outside Qamdo city, and the road transfer takes hours rather than minutes. Air China, Tibet Airlines and West Air fly to Chengdu, Chongqing, Beijing, Lhasa, Mianyang and Xi'an. In 2021 the airport handled 402,165 passengers and 4,754 aircraft movements.