The incredible remote airport with the world's longest runway - 5,000 metres long

The runway stretches a staggering 5,500 metres (Image: Flightsim.to)

Qamdo Bamda Airport is home to the world's longest runway, which stretches an incredible 5,500 metres. Despite beating world records, the runway located in Tibet has not been used as frequently as others across the world. Qamdo Bamda Airport is also actually recognised as the world's farthest airport from downtown, with it being 136km away from the nearest town.

The remote airport was established in August 1978 and recognised as an excellent project in the Aviation Industry. At the time, it was the world's highest airport, sitting at an elevation of a staggering 14,219 feet above sea level, but was then surpassed in 2013 by Daocheng Yading Airport in China.

Longer runaways are important for airports with high evelations, as the high altitude affects engine performance and the ability of the wings to acquire the lift needed to get aircraft flying.

Qamdo Bambda Airport has an oxygen level that is only at 50% of that at sea level, and being nestled in the deep Hengduan Mountains, it is impacted by severe climate effects, including wind speeds of over 30 metres per second and temperatures that fall past -20C in the winter and spring.

Such conditions make it necessary for the airport to have a longer runway.

In 2007, the airport underwent a revamp, which included a reconstruction of the record-breaking runway and an expansion involving a new terminal.

The runway is no longer in use after a new one was built in 2013 (Image: Flightsim.to)

The airport was then temporarily shut down in 2013 for further maintenance. However, the old runway was closed and a new 4,500 metre runway was built.

Passengers cannot fly internationally from Qamdo Bamba Airport, though it does serve several domestic routes in China, including Chengdu, Lhasa, Chongqing, Tianjin, and Anhui Fuyang.

To get to the airport from the nearest Qamdo Town, travellers can either take a taxi or board the airport shuttle bus, which runs every hour and has a ticket fare cost of 60 yuan (£6.28). Alternatively, the average drive would take around two and a half hours.

As well as all Qamdo Airport's other titles, the isolated location has also left it being dubbed as the world's "loneliest".