Tibet Airlines has commenced operations with the flight of its one aircraft, an A319, from Lhasa to Ngari. The airline plans to offer four services a day connecting Lhasa, Ngari and Chengdu, in Sichuan province.
TAC is based at the Lhasa Gonggar Airport, which at an elevation of 3,600 meters is one of the world’s highest civilian airports.
Tibet Airlines is seeking permission for non-stop Lhasa-Beijing flights, which it wants to launch by the end of the year.
Liu Yanping, general manager of Tibet Airlines, said the carrier also wants to have direct routes to Europe within four or five years.
The airline plans to have about 20 aircraft by 2015 and routes serving key cities around the nation in the next year, said Liu. Flights to South Asia and Southeast Asia are expected by 2013. The airline ordered three A319s, and the other two are scheduled for delivery in Lhasa in August and September.