By Phurbu Thinley
Dharamsala, July 1: China on Thursday opened its fourth civilian airport in the so-called Tibet Autonomous Region (TAR).
The new airport named Gunsa Airport, in Ngari Prefecture, became operational with the landing of a passenger plane of Air China, making it the fourth commercial airport in the region.
An Airbus 319 which took off from Chengdu, capital of the neighbouring Sichuan province, landed at the new airport at 10:20 a.m., Chinese state news agency has reported.
The airport sits more than 4,200 meters above sea level and has a 4,500-meter runway. Its annual throughput capacity is expected to reach 120,000 passengers by 2020.
‘TAR’ already has three airports – Gonggar Airport in Lhasa, Bamda Airport in Chamdo (Ch: Qamdo) prefecture and Nyingchi Airport. A fifth airport, ‘Peace Airport’ in Shigatse (Ch: Xigaze), is expected to open in October, Chinese state media said.
The Air China flight would fly from Chengdu to Lhasa and on to Ngari every Tuesday and Friday, Bao Lida, a company spokesperson reportedly said.
‘The flight leaves Chengdu at 5:50 a.m. and arrives in Lhasa two hours later. It leaves Lhasa at 8:40 a.m. and arrives at Ngari at 10:20 a.m,’ IANS quoted the official as saying; adding that the total distance of the flight is 2,300 km.
China insists that opening of more civil airports and a railway line linking Tibet with major cities, including Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou, four years ago were part of their initiative to bring development into Tibet.
Observers, however, point out that most of the developmental progress taking place in Tibet does not bring benefits to the ethnic Tibetans, but rather to the growing population of Han Chinese in Tibet. Critics also point out that the Communist Chinese government is making use of Tibet’s rich resources, whether natural or human, to meet its growing demands for raw material and energy.
In China’s one-party state, Tibetans have little or no say in the decision-making or in managing their own affairs. Tibetan exile groups and other critics say the developments bearing Chinese characteristics will only hasten China’s economic and cultural assimilation of Tibet.
