As of November 30, the two airports in Ngari Prefecture, Tibet, have handled over 180,000 passengers this year, with Ngari Gunsa Airport accounting for 175,300 of them.

Located in western Tibet and bordering Nepal and India, Ngari is the least populous prefecture-level administrative region in the Tibet Autonomous Region, with a resident population of 123,000 according to the latest census. The region currently operates two high-altitude airports: Ngari Gunsa Airport and Ngari Burang Airport.

A total of six flight routes connect Ngari to Lhasa, Kashgar, Xi'an, Urumqi, Xining, and Shache. Ngari Gunsa Airport, which began operations in 2010, has facilitated 16,400 flight takeoffs and landings as of 2024, handling 1.263 million passengers and 647.5 tons of cargo and mail. From January to November 29 this year, the airport recorded 175,300 passenger trips.

Meanwhile, Ngari Burang Airport, operational since December 2023, has already surpassed 10,000 passenger trips. In December, Ngari Gunsa Airport will launch a direct flight route to and from Chengdu.

The expansion of civil aviation has boosted local tourism. From January to August this year, Ngari welcomed 2.2033 million domestic and international visitors, generating total tourism revenue of 2.108 billion yuan, up 29.2% and 23.3% year-on-year, respectively.