Perched on a slope in China’s Sichuan province is Daocheng Yading Airport, which – at 4,411 metres (14,472 ft) above sea level – is the world’s highest airport.

Comparatively, it is so tall that it towers above Ben Nevis, the UK’s highest point which is more than three times lower than the altitude of Daocheng Yading. But unlike other larger, flashier transit hubs, this airport has only one runway, measuring 4,200 metres (13,800 ft) long and 45 metres (148 ft) wide.

The airport’s opening in 2013 was big news for locals, slashing the flight time from Daocheng to Chengdu, the region’s capital, to just one hour. It changed people’s lives, as the journey was previously only possible by car or bus – taking 11 hours or two days via public transport.

But the altitude is so intense that passengers are advised to prepare themselves beforehand. One TikToker, @aligoodguy, went viral after sharing a video of himself wearing an oxygen mask outside the terminal.

Because of its position in the Tibetan Plateau, Daocheng Yading Airport is a challenging land for even the most experienced pilots, and a potentially terrifying experience for their passengers and crew.

Dangerous terrain

The jury is out on the world’s most dangerous flight path, but the Tibetan Plateau is certainly up there, alongside the infamous ‘Bermuda Triangle’.

The thinness of the air causes unpredictable weather patterns, so aircraft must take off and land at a slower speed to manage the conditions.

Sections of the plateau are so challenging that aircraft typically divert around it, but there’s no easy bypass – the most dangerous part of the plateau spans 970,000 square miles, which is five times the size of France.

It covers most of the Tibet Autonomous Region, as well as parts of mainland China, India, Pakistan, Nepal, Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan.

Inside the terrain are some of the tallest mountains in the world – including Mount Everest, which at 8,849 metres, is the world’s highest point.

A shortage of airports with sufficient emergency runway space is an added problem for the region, which means planes that into trouble with engine failure, weather conditions or fuel shortages have no way to land.

There have been multiple plane crashes in the area, one as recent as 2022, when Tibet Airlines Flight 9833 veered off the runway at Chongqing Jiangbei International Airport after a failed take-off.

Both engines split in the process, sparking a fire at the front of the aircraft that left 36 people injured.

In May 2018, Sichuan Airlines Flight 8633 was forced to make an emergency landing at Chengdu after the cockpit windshield failed approximately 40 minutes into the flight. There were two injuries, but luckily, all 119 passengers survived.

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