Beijing Daxing International Airport (PKX), also known as Beijing New Airport, started its first scheduled international flights on Sunday, a move that is expected to help relieve pressure on the city’s existing Capital airport.
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An Air China flight to Bangkok was the first international flight to leave on Sunday, while British Airways will operate the first transcontinental flight, to London, a Reuters report said.
About 50 foreign airlines, including Finnair, plan to move all or part of their China operations to the airport in the coming quarters. China Southern Airlines and China Eastern Airlines will be the main domestic carriers at Daxing, though Air China will provide a small number of flights too.
The gigantic Daxing airport, designed by famed Iraqi-born architect Zaha Hadid, with the impressive shape which has given it the nickname “Starfish”, has enormous dimensions. There are currently four runways (with the prospect of becoming seven in the future) and a vast terminal building covering a 700,000 sq m area while the ground transportation centre extends to 80,000 sq m.
It is also the second international airport of Beijing along with Beijing Capital International airport. The airport’s design is pioneering while its location on Daxing District (the southern suburbs of Beijing) is ideal in order to serve the Chinese capital and the neighbouring areas of Hebei and Tianjin. The new mega-airport hub is expected to handle up to 45 million passengers per year by 2021 and reach an outstanding 100 million in the future.
Daxing Airport is located at the frontier between Beijing and Langfang, Hebei Province and is expected to serve the needs of Beijing, Tianjin and Hebei areas. Its location was selected after thorough analysis. With a 46km-distance from Tiananmen Square, a 67km-distance from Beijing International Airport and a 26km-distance from Langfang City Center, Daxing Airport aims to become the main airport hub of the region.
