Dali Airport Guide: Flying High Above Erhai Lake
Dali Airport sits on a hilltop above Erhai Lake at over 7,000 feet. Its history, runway, airlines, routes, transport links and growth plans.
By The Aviation Hub
5 min read
Updated October 20, 2026 
Dali Airport, officially Dali Fengyi Airport, sits on a levelled hilltop east of Xiaguan, the modern centre of Dali in China’s Yunnan province. It serves one of the country’s most popular tourist regions, home to Dali Old Town, Erhai Lake and the Cangshan mountains. Traffic has grown to around 3.75 million passengers a year. At more than 7,000 feet above sea level, it is also a genuinely high altitude airfield.
Dali Airport at a Glance
The IATA code is DLU and the ICAO code is ZPDL. The field lies in Fengyi Town, about 7.5 miles (12 km) from Dali’s urban area, at an elevation of 7,050 feet (2,149 m). It has one runway and one compact passenger terminal of about 14,250 square metres. Dali Airport recorded 3,750,473 passengers, 32,227 aircraft movements and almost 11,800 tonnes of cargo in its latest reported year.
Lucky Air, the Hainan Airlines group carrier, uses the airport as a hub, and the major Chinese airlines all serve it. The apron offers ten aircraft stands, a tight fit for the traffic it now handles. Flight information is available on the airport’s official website.
How Dali’s Airport Came to Be
Dali’s mountain setting made road travel slow for decades, and the journey from Kunming took most of a day. An airport was the obvious answer, but the valley floor was taken up by the lake, farmland and the city. Engineers instead cut and filled a ridge east of Xiaguan to create a level platform for a runway.
The airport opened on 28 November 1995 as Dali Huangcaoba Airport. Chinese sources describe it as the country’s first high altitude, high fill airport, a reference to the huge earthworks needed to build it. It was later renamed after Fengyi Town, where it stands. Tourism to Dali Old Town and Erhai Lake boomed through the 2000s and 2010s, pushing traffic far beyond the original design.
Competition arrived in July 2018, when high speed trains between Kunming and Dali cut the rail journey to around two hours. Demand on the short Kunming route fell, but longer routes to the big eastern cities grew. Dali Airport now depends on direct flights from places too far away for the train to compete.
Runways at Dali Airport
There is one asphalt runway, 17/35, measuring 2,600 metres (8,530 feet) long and 45 metres wide. The field is rated for medium and small aircraft, which in practice means the Airbus A320 family and the Boeing 737. At this altitude, thin air reduces engine thrust and lift, so long takeoff runs and payload limits are a fact of life on hot summer afternoons.
The ridge top site means the ground falls away steeply beyond both ends of the runway. Crews must also contend with gusty winds funnelled between the mountains and the lake. A large welcome message laid out on a hill on the west side is visible from the air, a local quirk that greets arriving passengers.
Terminals and Airlines
A single terminal handles all flights, supported by a few smaller buildings nearby. It is modest for an airport of almost four million passengers, and queues at security and check in are common during national holidays. A revised master plan for expansion was approved in late December 2020.
Lucky Air, which grew up in Yunnan, has a strong presence at Dali Airport and operates many of its routes. China Eastern, with its large Yunnan operation, is another major carrier, and other domestic airlines add capacity. Almost all flights are domestic, and narrow body jets dominate the apron. International services are rare, so overseas visitors usually connect through Kunming, Chengdu or Shanghai.
Routes and Destinations
The network points east and north. Flights connect Dali with the big cities that supply most of its tourists, including Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, Shenzhen, Chengdu, Chongqing and Hangzhou. These are the routes where the plane saves many hours over the train. Shorter hops within Yunnan, such as Xishuangbanna, also feature. A daily China Eastern flight to Kunming survives, mainly for passengers connecting at the provincial hub.
Demand is highly seasonal. The Spring Festival, the May Day holiday and the National Day Golden Week in October bring the heaviest traffic, and summer is busy as visitors escape the heat of lowland China. Cargo is small but steady, with fresh flowers, mushrooms and other mountain produce flown out in passenger holds. Nearly 11,800 tonnes moved through Dali Airport in its latest reported year.
Getting to and from Dali Airport
There is no rail link to the terminal. Airport shuttle buses run to Xiaguan and on towards Dali Old Town, and they are the cheapest sensible option. Taxis and ride hailing cars reach Xiaguan in around 30 minutes and Dali Old Town in about an hour, depending on traffic around the lake.
Dali railway station in Xiaguan is the hub for high speed trains to Kunming and Lijiang, so many travellers combine a flight in with a train out. Car hire is available, though driving in Yunnan’s mountain traffic is not for everyone. Parking is provided beside the terminal for drop offs and short stays.
Spotting and Photography
Dali Airport rewards anyone with a long lens and patience. The ridge top setting means aircraft appear against a backdrop of Erhai Lake and the Cangshan range, and roads on the surrounding hills offer elevated views of the runway. The dry season from November to April brings the clearest skies and the sharpest light.
Traffic is mostly A320 family and 737 aircraft in the colours of Lucky Air, China Eastern and other Chinese airlines. Security is strict at Chinese airports, so stay well away from fences, avoid restricted roads and do not fly drones anywhere near the field. Be ready to show identification if asked.
What Comes Next
Capacity is the pressing issue. The terminal and ten stand apron were not built for close to four million passengers, and the master plan approved in 2020 sets the framework for a larger terminal and more stands. Any work must respect the difficult ridge top site, which limits how far the airfield can spread.
Tourism to Dali shows no sign of fading, and new direct routes keep arriving. The verdict: Dali Airport will keep growing, but only a substantial terminal expansion can keep pace with demand. Compare it with other Yunnan airports on the Airports of the World map.
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