Grand opening for Beijing's new mega airport
The launch ceremony of the Beijing Daxing International Airport
Chinese President Xi Jinping announced the grand opening of Beijing's Daxing International Airport, one of the world's largest, on Wednesday morning.
The Civil Aviation Administration of China issued the operational certificate to the Daxing airport authority shortly before noon, meaning commercial flights can take off and land at the airport.
Chinese Vice Premier Han Zheng said at the launching ceremony that the Daxing airport is expected to enhance the international competence of China’s civil aviation industry, help the nation’s opening up, rebalance the non-capital function of Beijing as well as promote the integrated development of the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei area.
“Safety, comfortable and convenience should become the focus of the new airport,” Han said.
An Airbus 380, the world’s biggest airliner, operated by the airport’s main tenant China Southern Airlines, will take off from the mega airport at 3:45pm.
Later flights by other major domestic carriers operating at the airport, including China Eastern, Air China and China United Airlines, also take off with their newest airliners such as the Airbus 350 and Boeing 787 Dreamliner.
The airport, considered a marvel of China’s logistical planning, architecture and economic integration, is located near the junction of Beijing's Daxing District and Langfang in north Hebei Province.
The airport is designed to resemble the shape of a feather from a phoenix, a bird-like creature from ancient Chinese mythology. It aims to meet the country's soaring air-service demand and relieve pressure on Beijing's existing Capital International Airport.
Covering a land area of 47 square kilometers, the new airport doubles the size of the Capital International Airport, which is currently the largest in China. It boasts a terminal equivalent to the size of 97 soccer pitches along with faster security check and boarding procedures powered by facial recognition and artificial intelligence.
It is expected to handle 45 million passengers annually by 2021 and 72 million by 2025, making it one of the busiest airports in the world, on par with Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport in the United States.
Four runways are operating upon opening of the first phase, with a total of seven runways planned to handle the growing number of air travelers to and from the capital.
Construction on the US$11.3 billion project began in 2014, with more than 40,000 workers on site at its peak.
An aerial view of the Beijing Daxing International Airport
Sprawling starfish
Nicknamed the "starfish" for the shape of its five extending structures connected to a main hall, the airport aims to reduce walking for passengers. The distance between security checkpoints to gates is no more than 600 meters, equal to about eight minutes of walking.
The five-story terminal building, with two underground levels, said to be the world’s largest stand-alone terminal building, features eight C-shaped pillars to support the mega structure, while also allowing plenty of natural light through more than 8,000 rooftop windows.
Two departure levels have been designed for the terminal to handle the large number of expected travelers. A subway system connecting the airport with Beijing's city center is located in the underground floor of the terminal.
The new subway connection for the Daxing airport opened on September 15. It links the airport to Caoqiao Station, which is 41 kilometers away from the airport and close to downtown Beijing. Running at 160kmph, the train will take 19 minutes to reach the city from the airport.
Cui Xiaohao, deputy director of the Beijing’s development and reform commission, said the new airport will become an important economic pillar in the development of Beijing and help rebalance the city’s southern area.
Self-baggage drop machines at the Beijing Daxing International Airport
