Air China A319 conducts RNP validation flight at Tibetan airport

An Air China A319 successfully completed a Required Navigation Performance validation flight at Ali in China's Tibetan Autonomous Region, Airbus said Friday. The high-altitude airport is expected to be opened officially for operations "soon," the manufacturer noted, adding that "CAAC has decided that the A319 will be the first aircraft to fly to and from" the facility. At an elevation of 4,274 m. (14,022 ft.), Ali will become one of the highest airports in the world served by commercial aircraft. "The route to and from Ali spans a sparsely populated plateau at an altitude of up to 5,000 m.and mountains over 7,000 m.high," Airbus said."The weather conditions in the area...[require] the precision and reliability enabled by the RNP navigation technique, allowing pilots to land the aircraft in conditions that would otherwise require them to hold, divert to another airport, or even to cancel the flight before departure."