Lhasa Gonggar Airport [File photo/Chinanews.com]

Tibet's civil aviation agency marked its 55th anniversary on Sunday, China News Service reported.

According to the Tibet branch of the Civil Aviation Administration of China, Tibet's first runway was built in 1956 in the region's northern Damshung Grassland at an altitude of 4,230 meters, and later in 1965 it opened the flight route from Beijing to Lhasa, marking the start of civil aviation.

Over the 55 years, the number of Tibet's airports has increased from one to the current five, and the number of flight routes increased from one to the current 103, enabling convenient connections between Tibet and 51 cities. The annual number of passengers exceeded 5.72 million.

According to the aviation administration, the region expects three other feeder airports and one new runway to be fully operational over the next five years, and the upgrade of the airports' intelligent system will benefit more civilians.