In March 1966, Gonggar Airport began to be constructed in the Yarlung Zangbo River Valley. On September 20th, the construction of the main runway at an altitude of 3,540 meters was finished, being 3,600 meters long, 45 meters wide, with a cement surface and designed according to the requirements of the I1-18.Now, as for Lhasa Gonggar Airport and Qamdo Bamda Airport owned by Tibet, Bamda Airport poses much difficulty to tourists in winter because of the high altitude and far distance from Lhasa. After the construction of Nyingchi Airport, tourists can adapt to the plateau climate gradually from relatively low altitude places as well as appreciating the special plateau scenes along the way. A new passenger terminal at Gongga airport in Lhasa which cost 274 million yuan (33 million USdollars) is equipped with the state-of-the-art service facilities,and can handle 1,300 passengers an hour.
The parking apron, power and water supply systems and underground piping at the airport have also been improved.