Bangda Airport (BPX) Information

Where is Bangda Airport? The town of Bangda (Bamda) was purpose built to support the creation of its airport. In such a mountainous terrain, flat land is hard to come by, so when an airport was needed, it was built along with the town to support it. At an elevation of 4,334 metres (14,219 feet), one of the most remotest places in the world is now rather easily accessible.

Qamdo (Chamdo), the city for which Bangda Airport was built to serve, is about 2.5 hours away, on a 120 kilometre (75 mile) mountain road (with lots of twists!). Once capital city of the former region of Kham, the city has quite a rich heritage and history. Situated by the Mekong River, many travellers find laid back Qamdo a good spot to take a break before going deeper into Tibet.

Qamdo Bangda Airport (IATA: BPX, ICAO: ZUBD), also known as Bamda Airport, is a joint commercial and military airport officially located in Bangda, Qamdo prefecture, Tibet Autonomous Region, China. The airport is famous for poor weather and cancelled flights (people can get stuck here for a long time). All flights arrive and depart before noon.

Not only is Banga Airport the highest airport in the world, BPX also has the longest publicly used runway in the world, at 5,500 metres (18,045 feet) - that's 5.5 kilometres (or 3.42 miles). The low air density at this altitude means a longer runway is needed (the technical explanation is "a higher takeoff and landing true airspeed is necessary").

Before landing, visitors are warned to move slowly when disembarking, as they may feel light headed or dizzy due to the thin air. 

Air China operates flights to Chengdu. Interestingly, the flight returning to Chengdu departs just one hour after the plane from Chengdu lands.

Tibet Airlines operates flights to Chongqing, Lhasa and Tianjin.

Bangda Airport is frequently mentioned on lists of the world's top most dangerous airports. 

Banga surrendered its claim as highest airport in the world in 2013 when Daocheng Yading Airport (DCY) opened at an elevation of 4,410 metres (14,469 feet). DCY`s claim-to-fame will be shortlived, however, as Nagwu Dagring Airport, under construction, will sit at 4,436 metres (14,554 feet).

Facilities at Bangda Airport are limited, including:

• Restaurant
• Snack bar

There is reportedly a bank at Bangda Airport, however IHateTaxis has not been able to confirm this (it may just be an ATM).