Air China new direct Beijing-Tibet flight

Air China is offering direct flights from Beijing to Tibet, cutting down the current travel time by two hours.

The new service to Lhasa, Tibet’s capital, departs Beijing daily. Before this new development, all flights to Lhasa were routed through Chengdu, the capital of southwestern China’s Sichuan province.

Travel Agent Central reports the new service is designed to boost tourism in the Himalayan region. Tourism is still suffering for the March, 2008 unrest in the region  and arrivals in the first half of last year fell nearly 70%.

The new flight will leave at 7 a.m. dailyy from the Beijing Capital International Airport, and arrive at the Lhasa Gonggar Airport at 10:50 a.m.