Daocheng Yading Airport — Garzê (Daocheng), China

Daocheng Yading Airport carries the code DCY and holds the distinction of being one of the highest-elevation civil airports on earth, sitting above 4,400 meters in the mountains of Garzê Prefecture, Sichuan, China. It was built specifically to open up the Yading Nature Reserve, a dramatic alpine landscape of glaciated peaks and turquoise lakes that draws domestic tourists and trekkers. Because of the thin air at altitude, aircraft operating into DCY require longer runways and specialized performance planning, and flights can be affected by weather more readily than lowland airports. The airport primarily handles routes connecting Chengdu and other regional hubs to this tourism-driven destination in western Sichuan.