Westernmost airport opens to passengers

Tashikurgan facility a new hub to connect central and southern Asia

China's westernmost civil aviation airport opened to traffic on Friday in the Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region, establishing a new air hub to central and southern Asia and better connecting the region.

The Tashikurgan airport, located at 3,258 meters above sea level, is in Tashikurgan Tajik autonomous county, in the western part of Pamir Plateau. It is a major international passage in Xinjiang, bordering Pakistan, Afghanistan and Tajikistan. The airport is 298 km from Kashgar, a major city in the region.

Construction began on the airport in April, 2020. It can accommodate 160,000 passenger trips and handle 400 metric tons of cargo, as well as 1,900 departures and landings each year. The airport cost more than 1.6 billion yuan ($229 million).

On Friday, a flight operated by China Southern Airlines flew from Urumqi, capital of Xinjiang, to Tashikurgan. The trip takes about two and a half hours.

The opening of the airport has greatly reduced travel time. In the past, passengers had to take road or air transport to Kashgar and transfer by bus to Tashikurgan. The trip took at least eight hours.

Now, as travel time has been slashed, travelers can fly from other cities to Urumqi and transfer to a flight from there to Tashikurgan.

People can also fly from Urumqi to other cities such as Beijing, Xi'an of Shaanxi province and Shenzhen of Guangdong province.

"It is a big day for 41,000 local people in Tashikurgan. With the opening of the airport, Tashikurgan is no longer a remote area, but a hub to Central and South Asia. We have built a comprehensive transport system with national roads as main routes, as well as rural roads and an airport. The improved transport link will boost local tourism and rural vitalization," said Huang Xiangbai, Party chief of Tashikurgan Tajik autonomous county.

"Our family moved from a mountain in Maeryang township and now lives in an apartment with tap water, electricity and heat. Now we can even take a flight to Urumqi. I could never imagine that before. I want to go to Beijing and Shanghai in the future," said local herdsman Memereyim Mahsat.

He also welcomed tourists from across the country to take the flight to see Pamir Plateau.

Hao Hengchen from Jinan of Shandong province took the maiden journey from Urumqi to Tashikurgan on Friday.

He said the facilities of the new airport are full of modern design. The scenery along the way is beautiful and worth the ticket price.

The airline has adopted a modified Airbus 319 to fly the high plateau airport. "The lack of oxygen has a high requirement for the aircraft's engine. The Airbus 319 has an advantage in this respect, so we chose this aircraft to fly," said captain Li Ke.