Beijing Capital International Airport

Beijing Capital International Airport Template:Airport codes is the busier of the two international airports serving Beijing, the capital city of China (the other one being Beijing Daxing International Airport). The airport is located Template:Convert northeast of downtown Beijing, in an exclave of Chaoyang and the surroundings of that exclave in suburban Shunyi.<ref>Map from Maptown.cn. (Archive)</ref> The airport is owned and operated by the Beijing Capital International Airport Company Limited, a state-controlled company. The airport's IATA Airport code, PEK, is based on the city's former romanized name, Peking. The facility covers an area of Template:Convert of airport property.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

History

Capital Airport in 1959

Beijing Airport was opened on 1 March 1958.<ref name="bj_avia">Template:Cite book</ref>Template:Rp The airport then consisted of one small terminal building, which still stands to this day, apparently for the use of VIPs and charter flights, along with a single Template:Convert runway on its eastern side,<ref name="bj_avia"/>Template:Rp which was extended to Template:Convert in 1966 and Template:Convert in 1982 respectively.<ref name="bj_avia"/>Template:Rp Another Template:Convert runway on the west was completed in October 1978. On 1 January 1980, a newer, larger Terminal 1 – green in color – opened, with docks for 10 to 12 aircraft. The terminal was larger than the one built in the 1950s but, by the mid-1990s, its size had become inadequate.Template:Citation needed

The first international flight to China and Beijing Capital International Airport was of Pakistan International Airlines from Islamabad.Template:Citation needed

Capital Airport in 1972, when an Air Force One carrying US President Richard Nixon arrived at Beijing on February 21

In late 1999, to mark the 50th anniversary of the founding of the PRC, the airport underwent a new round of expansion. Terminal 2 opened on 1 November of that year and Terminal 1 was temporarily closed for renovation. 20 September 2004 saw the opening of the renovated Terminal 1 which, at that time, only handled China Southern Airlines' domestic and international flights from Beijing.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Other airlines' domestic and international flights still operated in Terminal 2.

More expansion began in 2007. A third runway opened on 29 October 2007, to relieve congestion on the other two runways.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Terminal 3 (T3) was completed in February 2008, in time for the 2008 Beijing Summer Olympics. The significant expansion included a rail link to the city center.

At its opening, the new Terminal 3 was the largest man-made structure in the world in terms of area covered, and a major landmark in the developing Chinese capital. The expansion was largely funded by a 30 billion yen loan from Japan and a 500-million-euro (US$625 million) loan from the European Investment Bank (EIB). The loan was the largest ever granted by the EIB in Asia, and the agreement was signed during the eighth China-EU Summit held in September 2005.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Following the 2008 Summer Olympics and the addition of adding the new terminal building, Beijing Capital overtook Tokyo Haneda as the busiest airport in Asia based on scheduled seat capacity.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

Due to limited capacity of Beijing Capital International Airport, plans were announced for the construction of a new airport at Daxing. The project was given final approval on 13 January 2013. Construction began in late 2014 and was completed in 2019.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> The new Daxing Airport became the Beijing home of China Eastern Airlines, China Southern Airlines, and China United Airlines, while Air China and Hainan Airlines remained at Capital.

Terminals

Airport layout

Capital Airport in 1997

Shuttle buses connect the airport's three terminals. Terminal 2 serves Hainan Airlines and SkyTeam with the exception of China Airlines, Oneworld member SriLankan Airlines, and also other domestic and international flights. Terminal 3, the newest terminal, serves Air China, Star Alliance, Oneworld members with the exception of SriLankan Airlines, plus SkyTeam member China Airlines, and some other domestic and international flights that do not operate from Terminals 2.

Terminal 2

Terminal 2 opened on 1 November 1999, with a floor area of Template:Convert.<ref name="bcia"/> This terminal was used to replace Terminal 1 while the latter was undergoing renovation, cramping all airlines despite being far bigger than Terminal 1. It can handle twenty aircraft at docks connecting directly to the terminal building. Prior to the opening of Terminal 3, all international flights (and the majority of domestic flights) operated from this terminal. This terminal now houses Hainan Airlines (all international, Hong Kong, Macau, and Taiwan flights), SkyTeam with the exception of China Airlines, which uses Terminal 3, Oneworld member SriLankan Airlines, Air Koryo, and other domestic and international flights other than those operated by Shanghai Airlines, Star Alliance members and Oneworld members. A gate capable of handling the A380 (gate 21) was also built at the terminal. Star Alliance member Air China also uses Terminal 2 for some of its domestic flights.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Terminals 1 and 2 are linked by a public walkway that takes about 10–15 minutes to traverse.

Westwing Satellite Terminal (formerly Terminal 1)

Aerial view of PEK Terminal 1 and 2

Terminal 1, with Template:Convert of space, opened on 1 January 1980, and replaced the smaller existing terminal, which had been in operation since 1958.<ref name="bj_avia"/>Template:Rp<ref name="bcia">Template:Cite web</ref> Terminal 1 was closed for renovation from 1 November 1999 to 20 September 2004, during which all airlines operated from Terminal 2. Featuring 16 gates, it was the operational base for the domestic routes of China Southern Airlines and a few other airlines such as XiamenAir and Chongqing Airlines, and was originally planned to handle domestic traffic excluding those to Hong Kong and Macau.

With the opening of Terminal 3, the terminal was closed for light refurbishment, and its airlines were moved to Terminal 2 on 20 May 2008.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Terminal 1 reopened for a second time on 27 June 2008, and became the operational base for all domestic flights operated by the HNA Group including those of Hainan Airlines, Grand China Air and Tianjin Airlines, while all HNA Group's international, Hong Kong, Macau, and Taiwan flights remain in Terminal 2.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

On 3 May 2020, Terminal 1 temporary closed for reproposing, after Hainan Airlines moved its all domestic routes to Terminal 2. The Terminal 1 was reopened on 1 August 2023 as Westwing Satellite Terminal as part of Terminal 2.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Terminal 3

Construction of Terminal 3 started on 28 March 2004, and the terminal opened in two stages. Trial operations commenced on 29 February 2008, when seven airlines including El Al, Qantas, Qatar Airways, Shandong Airlines and Sichuan Airlines moved into the terminal. Twenty other airlines followed when the terminal became fully operational on 26 March 2008.<ref>Company Introduction – About Us – BCIA Template:Webarchive</ref> Currently, it mainly houses Air China, Star Alliance, Oneworld with the exception of SriLankan Airlines, which uses Terminal 2, SkyTeam member China Airlines, and other domestic and international flights that are not operated from Terminal 2. Star Alliance members LOT Polish Airlines, Scandinavian Airlines, Lufthansa, Austrian Airlines, United Airlines, Air Canada, Turkish Airlines, Thai Airways International, Singapore Airlines, All Nippon Airways, Asiana Airlines and Air China use Terminal 3-E as part of the Move Under One Roof program to co-locate alliance members.

Terminal 3 was designed by a consortium of Netherlands Airport Consultants (NACO), Foster + Partners, Arup and the Beijing Institute of Architectural Design (BIAD). Lighting was designed by UK lighting architects Speirs and Major Associates. The budget for the expansion is US$3.5 billion. Much larger in size and scale than the other two terminals, Terminal 3 was the largest airport terminal-building complex in the world to be built in a single phase, with Template:Convert in total floor area at its opening.<ref name=bcia/> It features a main passenger terminal (Terminal 3C) and two satellite concourses (Terminal 3D and Terminal 3E), all of the five floors above ground and two underground, with the letters "A and B" omitted to avoid confusion with the existing Terminals 1 and 2. Only two concourses were initially opened, namely, Terminal 3C dedicated for domestic flights and Terminal 3E for international flights. Terminal 3D officially opened on 18 April 2013. The newly opened concourse is temporarily used solely by Air China for some of its domestic flights.<ref>"Beijing Airport opens new section for passengers"http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/beijing/2013-04/17/content_16415445.htm Template:Webarchive</ref>

At the time of its opening, Terminal 3 was the largest airport passenger terminal building in the world. Its title as the world's largest passenger terminal was surrendered on 14 October 2008 to Dubai International Airport's Terminal 3, which has Template:Convert of floor space.

On 20 July 2013, a man in a wheelchair detonated small homemade explosives in Terminal 3 of the Beijing International Airport. The bomber, reported to be Ji Zhongxing, was injured and taken to a hospital for his injuries. No other people were hurt.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

System, security and luggage

Terminal 3 baggage claim hall

Terminal 3 has a Template:Convert transportation hub with a 7,000-car garage. The transportation center has designated traffic lanes for airport buses, taxis, and private vehicles. Travelers bound for T3 can exit their vehicles and enter T3 within five minutes. There is also a station for the Capital Airport Express of the Beijing Subway.

Terminal 3 has 243 elevators, escalators or moving walkways.

One of Terminal 3's highlights is the US$240 million luggage-transfer systems. The luggage system is equipped with yellow carts, each of which has a code that matches the bar code on every piece of luggage loaded and allows easy and accurate tracking. More than 200 cameras are used to monitor activities in the luggage area.

The luggage system can handle 19,200 pieces of luggage per hour. After luggage is checked in at any of the 292 counters in Terminal 3C, it can be transferred at a speed of ten meters per second. Hence, a suitcase can travel from T3C to T3E in five minutes. Arriving passengers should be able to begin retrieving their luggage within 4.5 minutes after airplanes are unloaded.

Besides X-ray scanners, additional equipment is used to conduct baggage screening. Passengers will be able to check-in their luggage at the airport from several hours to even a day before their flights. The airport will store the luggage in its luggage system and then load it on the correct aircraft.

The control tower at Beijing Capital International Airport

Appearance

The highest building at the airport, a Template:Convert monitoring tower, stands at the southern end of T3. The roof of T3 is red, the Chinese color for good luck. The terminal's ceilings use white strips for decoration and to indicate directions. Under the white strips, the basic color of the ceiling is orange with light to dark tones indicating where a passenger is inside the building. The roof is light orange in the center. The color deepens as the roof extends to the sides in T3E and goes the other way round in T3C.

The roof of T3 has dozens of triangular windows to let in the daylight. Light angles can be adjusted to ensure adequate interior lighting. Many traditional Chinese elements will be employed in the terminal's interior decoration, including a "Menhai", a big copper vat used to store water for fighting fires in the Forbidden City, and the carvings imitating the famous Nine-Dragon Wall.

An indoor garden in the T3E waiting area is built in the style of imperial gardens such as the Summer Palace. In T3C, a tunnel landscape of an underground garden has been finished with plants on each side so that passengers can appreciate them inside the mini-train.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Facilities

Hilton Beijing Capital Airport

The T3 food-service area is called a "global kitchen", where 72 stores provide food ranging from formal dishes to fast food, from Chinese to Western, and from bakery goods to ice cream. Airport officials have promised that people who buy products at the airport will find the same prices in central Beijing. In addition to food and beverage areas, there is a Template:Convert domestic retail area, a Template:Convert duty-free-store area and a nearly Template:Convert convenience-service area, which includes banks, business centers, Internet services and more. At Template:Convert, the commercial area is twice the size of Beijing's Lufthansa Shopping Center.

The terminal provides 72 aerobridges or jetways and is further complemented with remote parking bays that bring the total number of gates to 150. Terminal 3 comes with an additional runway. It increases BCIA's total capacity by 72 million passengers per year to approximately 90 million.<ref name="capacity">Beijing Airport Operational Capacity Template:Webarchive</ref>

Airbus A380

The terminal has gates and a nearby runway that can handle the Airbus A380. This capability was proven when Singapore Airlines briefly offered A380 flights to Beijing in August 2008 during the Summer Olympics. Emirates started its scheduled daily operation to Dubai on 1 August 2010. Singapore Airlines has been using an A380 since June 2014 and increased to two A380s in 2015. China Southern Airlines operated two flights to Guangzhou Baiyun Airport, Chongqing Jiangbei Airport, and Amsterdam Schiphol Airport starting from 2011, 2013, and 2015 before retiring them in 2023. Lufthansa has been using these facilities since October 2010 to handle up to five A380 flights per week. Template:Clear

Ground transportation

Intraterminal transportation

Terminal 3 consists of three sub-concourses. Both domestic and international travellers check in at concourse T3C. Gates for domestic flights are in T3C, and gates for domestic flights operated by Air China are also located in concourse T3D. All international, Hong Kong, and Macau, and Taiwan flights are handled in concourse T3E.

A Beijing Capital Airport Terminal 3 people mover

In conjunction with the construction of the new terminal, Bombardier Transportation installed a Template:Convert automated people mover which connects T3C and T3E via T3D in a 2–5-minute one-way trip.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> The line uses Innovia APM 100 vehicles running at 6-minute intervals at a maximum speed of Template:Convert.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

New Innovia APM 300 vehicles were being delivered to Beijing Capital International Airport Terminal 3 People Mover in July 2021.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

Interterminal transportation

Interterminal Shuttle Bus (landside)

The airport provides a free interterminal shuttle bus between Terminals 1/2 and 3. They operate every 10 minutes from 6 am to 11 pm, and every 30 minutes from 11 pm until 6 am. Terminals 1 and 2 are connected by a lengthy corridor.

Rail

Template:Main Beijing Capital International Airport is served by the Capital Airport Express, a dedicated rail link operated as part of the Beijing Subway system. The Template:Convert line runs from Terminal 3 to Terminal 2 and then to the city with stops at Sanyuanqiao and Dongzhimen before ending at Beixinqiao. The line opened on 19 July 2008, in time for the 2008 Summer Olympics, while a one-stop extension to Beixinqiao station was opened on 31 December 2021.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> A one-way trip takes approximately 16–20 minutes.<ref name=Beijing>"Beijing Capital International Airport" ChinaTour.Net Template:Webarchive Accessed 4 December 2014</ref>

Bus

An airport bus at Terminal 3

There are 18 bus routes to and from points throughout the city including Xidan, Beijing railway station, Beijing South railway station, Beijing West railway station, Zhongguancun, Fangzhuang and Shangdi. The airport buses run to each of the three terminals and cost up to ¥30 per ride depending on the route. The airport buses accept only paper tickets that are sold at each terminal and certain bus stops in the city. The airport also offers intercity bus services to and from neighboring cities including Tianjin, Qinhuangdao, Baoding, Langfang and Tangshan.

Car

The airport is accessible by four expresses tollways, two of which run directly from northeastern Beijing to the airport. The other two connect to the airport from nearby highways.

• The Airport Expressway is a Template:Convert toll road that runs from the northeastern 3rd Ring Road at Sanyuanqiao directly to Terminals 1 and 2. It was built in the 1990s and has served as the primary road connection to the city.
• The 2nd Airport Expressway, opened in 2008, is a Template:Convert toll road that runs east from Yaojiayuan Lu at the eastern 5th Ring Road and then north to Terminal 3.
• The Northern Airport Line, opened in 2006, is an Template:Convert toll road that runs east from the Jingcheng Expressway to Terminals 1 and 2.
• The Southern Airport Line, opened in 2008, is a toll road that runs parallel and to the south of the Northern Airport Line from the Jingcheng Expressway to the eastern Sixth Ring Road at the Litian Bridge. This highway crosses the Airport Expressway and 2nd Airport Expressway, and enables drivers on the former to reach Terminal 3 and the latter to head to Terminals 1 and 2.

Accolades

Rankings

Traffic	Rank	Year
List of airports by passenger traffic	2	2014
List of airports by traffic movements	5	2014
List of airports by cargo traffic	12	2014

• 2009 – first on the ranking of the World's Best Airport by Condé Nast Traveler magazine, based on its satisfaction survey.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
• 2011 – third Best Airport Worldwide of the Airport Service Quality Awards by Airports Council International.<ref>"World's best airports announced – Asia dominates" Template:Webarchive CNN Go. 15 February 2012. Retrieved 12 April 2012</ref>
• 2011–2022 – ACI Director General's Roll of Excellence by Airports Council International<ref name=":0">Template:Cite web</ref>
• 2020, 2021 – best airport in the Asia-Pacific serving over 40 million passengers per year by Airports Council International<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref name=":0" />
• 2021 – best hygiene measures in the Asia-Pacific by Airports Council International<ref name=":0" />
• 2021 – Voice of the Customer by Airports Council International<ref name=":0" />

Statistics

Traffic by calendar year

Year	Passenger volume	Change from previous year	Aircraft operations	Cargo (tons)
2007<ref name="2008年全国机场吞吐量排名">Template:Cite web</ref>	53,611,747		399,209	1,416,211.3
2008<ref name="2008年全国机场吞吐量排名"/>	55,938,136	Template:IncreaseTemplate:04.3%	429,646	1,367,710.3
2009<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>	65,375,095	Template:IncreaseTemplate:016.9%	487,918	1,475,656.8
2010<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>	73,948,114	Template:IncreaseTemplate:013.1%	517,585	1,551,471.6
2011<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>	78,674,513	Template:IncreaseTemplate:06.4%	533,166	1,640,231.8
2012<ref name="ACI"/>	81,929,359	Template:IncreaseTemplate:04.1%	557,167	1,787,027
2013<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>	83,712,355	Template:IncreaseTemplate:02.2%	567,759	1,843,681
2014<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>	86,128,313	Template:IncreaseTemplate:02.9%	581,952	1,848,251
2015	89,900,000	Template:IncreaseTemplate:04.4%	594,785	1,843,543
2016	94,393,000	Template:IncreaseTemplate:05.6%	606,086	1,831,167
2017	95,786,296	Template:IncreaseTemplate:01.5%	597,259	2,029,583
2018	100,983,290	Template:IncreaseTemplate:05.4%	614,022	2,074,005
2019<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>	100,013,642	Template:DecreaseTemplate:01.0%	594,000	1,955,286
2020<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>	34,513,827	Template:DecreaseTemplate:065.5%	291,498	1,210,441
2021<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>	32,639,013	Template:DecreaseTemplate:05.4%	297,176	1,401,313
2022	12,703,342	Template:DecreaseTemplate:061.1%	157,630	988,675
2023<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>	52,879,156	Template:IncreaseTemplate:0316.3%	379,710	1,115,908
2024<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>	67,367,428	Template:IncreaseTemplate:027.4%	433,572	1,443,286

Other facilities

Beijing Capital Airlines has its headquarters in the Capital Airlines Building (Template:Lang-zh) at the airport.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>"youjidizhi.doc Template:Dead link." (Archive Template:Dead linkTemplate:Cbignore) Beijing Capital Airlines. Retrieved on 26 August 2012. "Address： Capital Airlines Building， No 3， North Cargo Road, Beijing Capital International Airport"</ref>

Accidents and incidents at or near PEK

On December 5, 1968, the airport was the site of two fatal accidents in less than 24 hours;

• A Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC) Ilyushin Il-14 on approach plunged towards the ground for undetermined reasons (possibly wind shear), broke apart and caught fire, and killed 13 out of the 14 occupants on board.<ref>Template:ASN accident</ref>
• Another CAAC Ilyushin Il-14 crashed 1.2 km (0.8mls) from PEK during a nighttime approach in poor visibility because of an incorrect altimeter setting and the absence of the flight instructor in the cockpit during the approach. Both occupants died.<ref>Template:ASN accident</ref>

On August 27, 2019, an Air China Airbus A330 caught fire while parked at the gate during boarding. All 161 passengers and crew evacuated safely, but the aircraft was substantially damaged and written off.<ref>Template:ASN accident</ref>

Sister airports

• O'Hare International Airport<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
• Helsinki Airport<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
• Hong Kong International Airport<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
• Los Angeles International Airport<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
• Manchester Airport<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
• Munich Airport<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
• Suvarnabhumi Airport<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
• Sydney Airport<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
• Stockholm Arlanda Airport
• Zayed International Airport<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

See also

• Beijing Daxing International Airport
• List of airports in China
• List of the busiest airports in China
• List of airports with triple takeoff/landing capability

External links

• Official website
• Template:ASN
• Beijing Capital International Airport aviation weather Template:In lang