Qamdo Bamda Airport in China is home to the world’s longest runway at more than three miles long, but despite the record-breaking feat it has been named one of the most inconvenient on the planet
An airport boasting the world’s longest runway has recently been listed as one of the planet’s most inconvenient. Qamdo Bamda Airport in Tibet, China, is also frequently considered the world’s most isolated due to its remote location — yet its record-breaking runway extends over three miles, or 5,500 metres.
Nevertheless, while impressive to witness, it isn’t always the most favoured, probably because it sits some 84 miles from the closest town, meaning travellers still face a lengthy journey after disembarking. This likely accounts for why the Telegraph included it in their top 10 list of most inconvenient airports earlier this year.
They highlighted the fact that it’s positioned just beyond Bamda — a tiny village that stands 4,300 metres above sea level. The report also noted that Tibet’s “notoriously mountainous terrain” makes building an airport any nearer to Qamdo impossible.
And for those travelling to Qamdo from the airport, which is Tibet’s third-largest city and the most probable destination for travellers, they must cover 78 miles by car, which could take two-and-a-half hours.
Nevertheless, a shuttle bus operates frequently, so passengers aren’t entirely marooned after landing on the world’s longest runway. In a fascinating insight, aviation group Cockpit King released a video about the airport last year, posing the question: “Is Qamdo’s runway an engineering marvel or just proof that humans push aviation to places it was never meant to go?”
The group highlighted that the runway is double the length of most runways worldwide — so vast that you could almost fit two Heathrow runways end to end.
Given that Qamdo sits thousands of feet above sea level, a narrator explained: “At that altitude the air is thin, engines make less thrust, wings make less lift and aircraft need far more distance to claw into the sky.”
The narrator continued: “This is one of the world’s most demanding operating environments with rapid weather shifts, mountainous terrain, and razor-thin margins for error. The runway is long because it has to be.”
Having opened in 1995, the airport immediately claimed the title of the world’s highest, perched at a staggering 4,334m above sea level.
This record was subsequently broken by another Chinese airport in September 2013 — Daocheng Yading Airport, which stands at a height of 4,411 metres.
The extended runway is absolutely essential for the airport, nestled within the Hengduan Mountains, where flights can be affected by wind speeds exceeding 30 metres per second and temperatures plummeting to as low as -20C at certain points throughout the year.
The airport underwent a major refurbishment in 2007, costing an estimated 270 million Yuan (approx £29m), which saw a brand new terminal constructed and the runway completely rebuilt. However, the entire site was shut down six years later, before a new 5,500 metre runway was constructed, with the original runway being decommissioned.
Passengers are unable to travel abroad from the airport, with only domestic routes on offer — including destinations such as Chengdu, Lhasa, Chongqing, Tianjin, and Anhui Fuyang.
The closest town to this incredibly isolated airport is Qamdo Town, with an hourly shuttle bus service running between the two costing 60 yuan (£6.28).
While most Brits may never find themselves at this airport, it regularly features in the Guinness World Records for boasting the longest runway in the world.
