Showing posts with label
Beijing Daxing International Airport.
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Showing posts with label
Beijing Daxing International Airport.
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BEIJING -- Beijing's new $63-billion Daxing airport began its first scheduled international flights on Sunday as it ramped up operations to help relieve pressure on the city's existing Capital airport.
Shaped like a phoenix -- though to some observers it is more reminiscent of a starfish -- the airport was designed by famed Iraqi-born architect Zaha Hadid, and formally opened in late September ahead of the Oct. 1 celebrations of the 70th anniversary of the People's Republic of China.
It boasts four runways and is expected to handle up to 72 million passengers a year by 2025, eventually reaching 100 million.
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.
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.
About 50 foreign airlines, including Finnair, plan to move all or part of their China operations to the airport in the coming quarters.
The relocation of all the airlines which will use Daxing is due to be completed by the winter of 2021. Air China and its Star Alliance partners will remain mostly at Capital airport.
The airport, roughly the size of 100 football fields and expected to become one of the world's busiest, has come in for some criticism due to its distance from central Beijing.
By public transport it takes over an hour to reach it from Beijing's central business district, more than double the time needed to reach Capital airport, which strains at the seams and is often hit by delays.
Officials say Daxing airport is not only designed to serve Beijing, but also the surrounding province of Hebei and next-door city of Tianjin, to boost regional development.
source: news.abs-cbn.com
BEIJING - Beijing's new futuristic airport that resembles a giant starfish -- opened days before the country celebrates the 70th anniversary of communist rule -- promises to transform the Chinese capital into a major Asian aviation hub.
Located 46 kilometers (29 miles) south of Tiananmen Square, Beijing Daxing International Airport will be able to handle 45 million passengers by 2021, with plans for 72 million by 2025 and 100 million by 2040.
It was opened by President Xi Jinping Wednesday, but had an immediate hitch when its maiden commercial flight -- an A380 superjumbo heading to the southern city of Guangzhou -- was delayed by nearly 30 minutes.
About a decade ago, Daxing was a sleepy suburb of dusty farmland and cramped quarters home to migrant workers building roads and skyscrapers in the city.
Now -- with the airport code PKX -- Daxing is seen as an embodiment of the "Chinese dream" Xi has offered his fellow citizens.
At 700,000 square meters (173 acres) -- about the size of 100 football pitches -- the new structure will be one of the world's largest airport terminals.
So far only China United Airlines has shifted their operations to the new hub but operations manager Wang Qiang said another seven domestic and eight international airlines would arrive in the "near future."
British Airways, Cathay Pacific and Finnair have already announced new routes to tap into its potential.
The SkyTeam alliance -- which includes Delta, Air France and Dutch airline KLM -- was also expected to move, along with local partners Eastern Airlines and China Southern Airlines.
The building was designed by Iraqi-British architect Zaha Hadid, who died in 2016.
The central atrium, with curves like a rolling landscape, is supported by eight giant columns and skylights filling the terminals with natural light.
Relatives and friends can also watch as their loved ones proceed to boarding gates through a viewing gallery.
An underground train station and metro line will allow travelers to reach Beijing city within 20 to 30 minutes.
Have money, will travel
The project cost 120 billion yuan ($17.5 billion), or 400 billion yuan if rail and road links are included.
At full capacity, Daxing would be the world's largest single terminal in terms of traveler capacity, according to its designers.
Dozens of self check-in counters -- where travelers only need to scan their passports -- have been set up alongside conventional airline counters to speed up operations.
Traveller Xie Hangyu said the check-in procedures were "very smooth and very convenient."
The current Beijing Capital International Airport -- the world's second-largest -- is already overflowing, handling 100 million passengers last year.
With the opening of Daxing, Beijing joins a select group of cities, including Tokyo, London, Paris and New York, that have two long-haul international airports.
Air transport is booming in China as living standards increase along with peoples' desire to travel.
It is expected to surpass the US to become the world's biggest aviation market by the mid-2020s, according to the International Air Transport Association.
By 2037 the country will have 1.6 billion plane journeys each year -- a billion more than in 2017, the organization estimates.
source: news.abs-cbn.com
BEIJING - A futuristic new airport in Beijing, which is expected to become one of the busiest in the world, was opened by President Xi Jinping on Wednesday.
Xi declared the starfish-shaped airport open in brief remarks at a ceremony inside the huge terminal, days before the country holds a grand celebration to mark 70 years of Communist rule.
Located 46 kilometers (29 miles) south of Tiananmen Square, the Beijing Daxing International Airport will operate at full capacity in 2040, with eight runways and the potential to receive 100 million passengers per year.
The single-terminal airport is seen as a fitting embodiment of the "Chinese dream" Xi has offered his fellow citizens.
At 700,000 square meters (173 acres) -- about the size of 100 football pitches -- the new structure will be one of the world's largest airport terminals.
Underneath the terminal is a train station and metro line that will allow travelers to reach the city center in 20 or so minutes.
The project cost 120 billion yuan ($17.5 billion), or 400 billion if rail and road links are included.
source: news.abs-cbn.com
