Beijing International Airport

Beijing Capital International Airport (Běijīng Shǒudū Guójì Jīchǎng) is the main airport of Beijing (Peking), capital city of the People’s Republic of China. Beijing Shoudu Guoji Jichang means “Peking’s Main International Airport “. [More]

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Peking (Beijing) airport, opened on 02.03.1958, is an important airport in the north-east of Beijing and was the first airport of the Chinese People’s Republic. It is 20 km north-east of the city centre in the district of Shunyi, more precisely, in the enclave of the district of Chaoyang in Beijing. It is located 25.35 km from Tiananmen Square in Beijing City.

Since 1997 Beijing airport has replaced the airport in Hong Kong as the busiest airport in the People’s Republic of China. According to passenger numbers in 2005, Beijing Airport is at place 2 in Asia and 14 worldwide. In 2004 it was also the busiest airport in Asia counting the number of flights handled, taking the place of Tokyo International Airport (Haneda), which it overtook in this year.

Beijing International Airport is the main hub of Air China and China Xinhua Airlines. China Southern Airlines and other airlines operate international and domestic flights from Beijing. 11 domestic and 55 foreign airlines operate more than 5000 regular flights to 88 cities in China and 69 cities outside China. Operating at Beijing airport are, for example, the airlines Air China (Bangkok, Delhi, Frankfurt, Hiroshima, Kathmandu, Munich, New York-JFK, Phuket, Rome-Fiumicino, Shenzhen, Singapore, Zhoushan), Air France (Paris-Charles de Gaulle), All Nippon Airways (Osaka-Kansai, Tokyo-Narita), British Airways (London-Heathrow), China Airlines (Taipei-Taiwan Taoyuan), China Eastern Airlines (Hangzhou, Los Angeles, Nanjing, Weifang, Wuhan, Yinchuan), China Southern Airlines (Amsterdam, Changchun, Chengdu, Hanoi, Manila, Phnom Penh, Xiamen, Xi’an, Zhenzhou, Zhuhai), Hainan Airlines (Brussels, Changsha, Chongqing, Dongying, Qingdao, Yinchuan), Korean Air (Daegu, Jeju, Seoul-Incheon), Qantas (Melbourne, Sydney), Scandinavian Airlines System (Copenhagen, Stockholm-Arlanda), Shenzhen Airlines (Shenzhen, Wenzhou, Wuxi) und Xiamen Airlines (Fuzhou, Jinjiang, Wuyishan).

On 29.01.2005 direct flights flew for the first time in 56 years over the areas of Hong Kong and Macao from the Chinese mainland to Taiwan. Landing rights at Beijing Capital Airport are in great demand. After slots had been granted to Federal Express, Continental Airlines on 15.06.2005 started non-stop flights from Newark Liberty International Airport in Newark, New Jersey to Beijing. American Airlines is planning direct flights from Dallas/Fort Worth starting in March 2007 and United Airlines is planning flights from Washington Dulles International Airport. Terminals 3, 4 and 5 are currently under construction.

In the early 90s, the Airport Expressway was opened: a toll road with a length of almost 20 km, linking downtown Beijing via the north-eastern 3rd Ring Road at Sanyuanqiao directly with the airport. For 2008 (in time for the Olympic Games) a second Airport Expressway and the Litian Expressway are to be completed. At the moment there are no city trains or underground routes, but the extension of the Beijing Subway to the airport began in June 2005 and is also due to be completed ready for the Olympic Games in 2008. At the moment many parts of the city are accessible by bus and Airport-City Shuttles.