An Airbus A319 that had taken off from Chengdu Shuangliu Airport landed smoothly on Kunsha Airport in Nagari(Ali), Tibet, at 9am, May 28. This was the first test flight for Kunsha Airport as well as for the Chengdu-Nagari(Ali)(Nagari) air route, flights of which will start officially on June 28. 

Nagari(Ali) Kunsha Airport lies at an altitude of 4,274 meters, only next to Qamdo Bangda Airport at an altitude of 4,300 meters, and is able to receive 120 thousand passengers annually. At 5:30am, May 28, an Airbus 319 with Air China Southwest Branch took off from Chengdu Shuangliu Airport and flew along the route Chengdu-Lhasa-Nagari(Ali).

After the plane landed on Kunsha Airport at 9 am, the crew started test flight experiments immediately. They alternatively used surface instrument navigation and RNP for navigation, and presuming one of the engines stopped working, practised such planned procedures as emergency landing and wave-off with only one engine.

Finally the experiments were complete success. Air China Southwest Branch said the pilots are quite familiar with the airspace conditions from Chengdu to Lhasa, but they know little about the airspace conditions from Lhasa to Nagari(Ali). The Nagari(Ali) region has abominable weather conditions, imposing harsh challenges on air traffic safety. Therefore both Kunsha Airport and the aircrafts will be equipped with RNP systems to ensure the air traffic safety in the plateau area.
 

• June 4th, 2010