The world's highest airport is officially open for business. The Daocheng Yading airport in China, the world's highest civilian airport is expected to boost tourism and tighten political control over the country's restive west.
The Daocheng Yading airport takes the record for the highest over Bangda airport in the Tibet Autonomous Region, which sits at 14,219 feet. The Daocheng Yading airport is 14,472ft above sea level, the Guardian reports.
The region provides a gateway to Tibet. Beijing has been trying to promote tourism to the area by damping down dissent from native Tibetans and stabilizing the area through economic development.
Beijing has made the area more travel accessible by adding small airports and they also spent $3.68 billion on the world's highest rail line over permafrost to Tibet's capital, Lhasa.
Flights from Daocheng Yading airport officially began on Monday. The high airport will cut travel time from Daocheng Yading to Sichuan's provincial capital of Chengd. The trip takes two days by bus but will only take 65 minutes through the airport. More routes will be added at the end of the month.
Aircraft engines don't produce as much thrust at high elevations due to the thin air. This requires runways to be longer. Daocheng Yading's airport is 13,779 feet long, which is only 793 feet shorter than the longest runway at John F Kennedy airport in New York. Passengers who arrive at the airport are warned of sustaining light-headedness and other symptoms of altitude sickness.
Daocheng Yading was renamed "Shangri-la" more than a decade ago to try to draw tourists to the the mythical Himalayan land described in James Hilton's 1933 novel.
The area isn't perfect though. The surrounding Garzi Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture has been a hotspot for political protests. The shorter travel time will allow troops to easily access the area in the event of political unrest. This last occurred in 2008.
This article is copyrighted by Travelers Today, the travel news leader
