Lhasa Gonggar Airport 拉萨贡嘎机场

About Lhasa Gonggar Airport

Terminal choice matters before planning a pickup: the official airport guide assigns domestic flights to T3 and international flights to T2. In T3, arrivals use the first floor and departures the third floor. Treat this page as an arrival-and-connection guide, allowing a distinct ground-transfer stage after collecting baggage instead of expecting Lhasa's old town to begin outside the terminal.

Construction began in March 1966. By the end of November, the principal works included a 3,000-metre concrete runway, with 500-metre safety strips at both ends, and aircraft parking areas. A trial flight succeeded in December 1966, and the complete airport project was finished in November 1967. Tibet's first international air service, linking Lhasa and Kathmandu, began on 12 September 1987.

The airport stands in the Yarlung Tsangpo River (雅鲁藏布江) valley at an elevation of 3,569.5 metres. Expansion approved in 1988 added a parallel civil runway north of the original one. Later enlargement finished in December 2003, with operations resuming on 1 January 2004. New navigation equipment enabled approaches from both directions and night flying; a successful night test flight took place on 27 June 2008.

At the airport

• T3's separate first-floor arrivals and third-floor departures levels, useful when agreeing on a pickup or drop-off.
• The distinction between domestic T3 and international T2, which should be checked against the flight booking.

Location & getting there

Getting to Lhasa Gonggar Airport

For Lhasa Gonggar Airport (LXA), confirm T3 for a domestic service or T2 for an international service with the airline. A February 2026 official guide identifies T3 arrivals doors 5 and 6 on the first floor and departures door 2 on the third floor.

• Agree on the terminal, floor and meeting door with the driver after allowing for baggage collection. Follow current airport signs for ground transport.