Tibet Airlines opens first intercontinental flight

Tibet launched its first intercontinental route on Monday connecting Jinan of East China’s Shandong province to Helsinki, capital city of Finland, in a bid to attract more visitors from Europe to the plateau.

The first batch of 240 more passengers from China’s Shandong province arrived in Tibet’s Gongkar Airport on Tuesday night.

The opening of the new route will help bring more domestic tourists from the vast eastern region to visit Tibet, and it will also attract more tourists from Northern Europe to visit the region via Jinan and Helsinki, according to the Tibet Tourism Development Department.

Zhong Min, deputy chief pilot of Tibet Airlines, said the new flight has shortened the flying time to three and a half hours, and it will help generate more political, economical and cultural exchanges between both sides.

Currently, there are 61 routes including four international routes with regular arrivals and departures in Tibet, People’s Daily reported, adding that Tibet Airlines plans to launch 18 new air routes for this summer, which will largely contribute to the region’s tourism development.