This article will address the topic of Beijing Capital International Airport, which has aroused growing interest in recent times. From different perspectives and approaches, this topic has generated debates and reflections in various areas, such as society, culture, politics, economics and science. Its implications, its evolution over time and its relevance today will be explored, with the aim of offering a comprehensive and detailed vision of Beijing Capital International Airport. Its different dimensions will be examined, analyzing its consequences, its influence on the global level and its future projection. Through a deep and exhaustive analysis, the aim is to contribute to the understanding and knowledge of Beijing Capital International Airport, thus enriching the debate and reflection around this topic of undoubted importance.
The airport is located 32 km (20 mi) northeast of Beijing's city center, in an exclave of Chaoyang and the surroundings of that exclave in suburban Shunyi. 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.
Beijing Airport was opened on 1 March 1958.: 20 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 2,500-meter (8,200 ft) runway on its eastern side,: 18 which was extended to 3,200 meters (10,500 ft) in 1966 and 3,800 meters (12,500 ft) in 1982 respectively.: 22 Another 3,200-meter (10,500 ft) 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.[citation needed]
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. 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. 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.
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.
Shuttle buses connect the airport's three terminals. Terminal 1 serves the domestic routes of Hainan Airlines and its subsidiaries (while its international, Hong Kong, Macau, and Taiwan flights operate from Terminal 2). Terminal 2 serves 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 either Terminals 1 or 2.
Terminal 1 (HNA Exclusive Domestic Terminal)
Terminal 1, with 60,000 m2 (650,000 sq ft) of space, opened on 1 January 1980, and replaced the smaller existing terminal, which had been in operation since 1958.: 24 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. 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.
Terminal 1
BCIA Terminal 1
Terminal 1 Departure hall
Terminal 1 Waiting hall
Terminal 1 Arrival hall
Terminal 1 corridor
Terminal 2
Terminal 2 opened on 1 November 1999, with a floor area of 336,000 m2 (3,620,000 sq ft). 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.
Terminals 1 and 2 are linked by a public walkway that takes about 10–15 minutes to traverse.
Terminal 3 was designed by a consortium of Netherlands Airport Consultants (NACO), Foster and 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 986,000 m2 (10,610,000 sq ft) in total floor area at its opening. 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.
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.
Terminal 3 has a 300,000 m2 (3,200,000 sq ft) 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.
Appearance
The highest building at the airport, a 98.3 m (323 ft) 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.
Facilities
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 16,200 m2 (174,000 sq ft) domestic retail area, a 12,600 m2 (136,000 sq ft) duty-free-store area and a nearly 7,200 m2 (78,000 sq ft) convenience-service area, which includes banks, business centers, Internet services and more. At 45,200 m2 (487,000 sq ft), 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.
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.
1: Hainan Airlines flight from Boston to Beijing make a technical stop at Seattle. Hainan, however, does not sell tickets solely between Boston and Seattle. The flight from Beijing to Boston is non-stop.
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.
In conjunction with the construction of the new terminal, Bombardier Transportation installed a 2 km (1.2 mi) automated people mover which connects T3C and T3E via T3D in a 2–5-minute one-way trip. The line uses Innovia APM 100 vehicles running at 6-minute intervals at a maximum speed of 55 kilometers per hour (34 mph).
New Innovia APM 300 vehicles is being delivered to Beijing Capital International Airport Terminal 3 People Mover in July 2021.
Interterminal transportation
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.
Beijing Capital International Airport is served by the Capital Airport Express, a dedicated rail link operated as part of the Beijing Subway system. The 30.0 km (18.6 mi) 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. A one-way trip takes approximately 16–20 minutes.
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 20 km (12 mi) 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 15.6 km (9.7 mi) toll road that runs east from Yaojiayuan Lu at the eastern 5th Ring Road and then north to Terminal 3.
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.
Graphs are unavailable due to technical issues. There is more info on Phabricator and on MediaWiki.org.
Annual passenger traffic at PEK airport.
See Wikidata query.
Traffic by calendar year
Year
Passenger volume
Change from previous year
Aircraft operations
Cargo (tons)
2007
53,611,747
399,209
1,416,211.3
2008
55,938,136
04.3%
429,646
1,367,710.3
2009
65,375,095
016.9%
487,918
1,475,656.8
2010
73,948,114
013.1%
517,585
1,551,471.6
2011
78,674,513
06.4%
533,166
1,640,231.8
2012
81,929,359
04.1%
557,167
1,787,027
2013
83,712,355
02.2%
567,759
1,843,681
2014
86,128,313
02.9%
581,952
1,848,251
2015
89,900,000
04.4%
594,785
1,843,543
2016
94,393,000
05.6%
606,086
1,831,167
2017
95,786,296
01.5%
597,259
2,029,583
2018
100,983,290
05.4%
614,022
2,074,005
2019
100,013,642
01.0%
594,000
1,955,286
2020
34,513,827
065.5%
291,498
1,210,441
2021
32,639,013
05.4%
297,176
1,401,313
2022
12,703,342
061.1%
157,630
988,675
2023
52,879,000
0316.3%
379,710
1,115,900
Other facilities
Beijing Capital Airlines has its headquarters in the Capital Airlines Building (首都航空大厦; Shǒudū Hángkōng Dàshà) at the airport.
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.
Another CAAC Ilyushin Il-14 crashed 1.2km (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.
On August 27, 2019, an Air ChinaAirbus 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.
^2018年民航机场生产统计公报 (in Chinese). Civil Aviation Administration of China. 5 March 2019. Archived from the original on 23 May 2020. Retrieved 12 March 2019.
^"新线开通 最新版线路图及首末班车时刻表" [The new line opens the latest version of the route map and the first and last train schedule]. Sina Corporation Online (in Chinese). 1 January 2022. Archived from the original on 3 January 2022. Retrieved 3 March 2022.
^ ab2008年全国机场吞吐量排名. Civil Aviation Administration of China. 12 March 2009. Archived from the original on 24 May 2011. Retrieved 29 March 2011.
^2009年全国机场吞吐量排名. Civil Aviation Administration of China. 5 February 2010. Archived from the original on 18 July 2011. Retrieved 29 March 2011.
^2010年全国机场吞吐量排名. Civil Aviation Administration of China. 15 March 2011. Archived from the original on 23 September 2011. Retrieved 29 March 2011.
^2011年全国机场吞吐量排名 (in Chinese). Civil Aviation Administration of China. 21 March 2012. Archived from the original on 17 April 2012. Retrieved 23 March 2012.
^2013年民航机场吞吐量排名 (in Chinese). Civil Aviation Administration of China. 24 March 2013. Archived from the original on 25 March 2014.
^2014年民航机场吞吐量排名 (in Chinese). Civil Aviation Administration of China. 3 April 2015. Archived from the original on 19 April 2015.
^联系方式. Beijing Capital Airlines. Archived from the original on 1 August 2012. Retrieved 26 August 2012. 北京首都国际机场货运北路3号首都航空大厦
^"youjidizhi.doc[permanent dead link]." (Archive[dead link]) Beijing Capital Airlines. Retrieved on 26 August 2012. "Address: Capital Airlines Building, No 3, North Cargo Road, Beijing Capital International Airport"