The Impressive Daxing Airport Terminal Building
The colossal new Beijing airport, Daxing International Airport, officially opened on September 26, 2019. The much-awaited grand opening of the airport revealed an outstanding terminal building, the second biggest in the world after the New Istanbul airport’s terminal. In the future, a second terminal (South Terminal) is planned to be constructed as the annual airport’s passenger traffic is projected to rise to more than 100 million in the long run.
The Unique Design of Daxing Airport Terminal
The terminal building of the new airport is the “child” of the late architect Zaha Hadid and boasts all the qualities of her work. Bearing a clearly futuristic character with smooth lines and numerous arches that “soften” the overall aesthetic, it is often referred to as the Starfish of Beijing due to its distinctive shape. The PKX terminal covers a 1.000.000m² area and has a large central space and 5 “tentacles”, resembling a giant “octopus”. Traditional Chinese gardens are to be found at the end of each concourse. In fact, the terminal features a total of six concourses, as a sixth “tentacle” serves as a service building, housing offices, and a hotel facility and being surrounded by the two parking buildings. The terminal’s golden roof has scattered windows allowing natural light to illuminate the whole place.
The concept behind the design of the terminal is to separate the arrivals from the departures. Thus, two levels serve the arriving flights, both domestic and international, and two more handle the departure airport duties. Hence, a single terminal building can cover the needs of a large number of passengers, making the airport’s services more effective and economical. That being said, departures and arrivals are spread over two floors each. As a result, multiple check-in zones are available for departures, making the relevant procedures faster and more convenient.
The passengers have the possibility to navigate through the central area where all the shops and the provided facilities are located and then head to their departure gate, situated in one of the corridors. Amazingly, despite the huge size of the airport, the walking distance between the core center and each gate doesn’t exceed 600 meters. Passengers can shop and wander around carefree, knowing that even if their gate is located at the end of the corridor, they won’t need more than 8 minutes to reach it on foot. On top of that, the PKX terminal boasts the largest moving walkways in China, further facilitating transit throughout its premises.
Interesting Fact: Beijing Daxing International Airport features a total of 422 check-in counters, 63 baggage carousels, 79 boarding gates, and 3000 flight information screens.
The Innovations of the PKX Terminal
Daxing Airport pioneers the use of double-deck departure and arrival platforms and is equipped with the latest technology services such as facial-recognition equipment (for self-check-in) and baggage-tracking systems. Aiming to be one of a kind, the new airport could only be extremely environmentally friendly. Low-carbon policies, solar panels, and systems collecting rainwater to re-use it further are only some examples of the general philosophy that characterizes the airport’s operation.
What’s more, the whole design of Daxing Airport is inspired by Chinese tradition and culture. Typical Chinese touches are combined with futuristic elements while five outdoor traditional Chinese gardens adorn the five corridors. The airport shape, after all, can easily be compared to a giant phoenix, a very characteristic Chinese symbol. Lastly, below the terminal, an enormous transportation hub is located featuring the airport’s train and subway stations.
Moreover, a City Terminal has been constructed at Caoqiao Station. Thus, passengers have the possibility to check in directly, hand in their checked luggage, which is sent straight to the airport, and proceed directly to their boarding gate once arriving at PKX Airport. Moreover, a City Terminal (Zhuozhou City Terminal) is also located in Zhuozhou Vocational Education Park. In detail, it is to be found on the first floor of Building 7. On the other hand, Langfang City Terminal is situated in Langfang (Hebei Province), in the Economic and Technological Development Zone. Another city terminal (Lize Daxing Airport City Terminal) is expected to be operational in 2025.
Our Tip: Gu’an City Terminal, situated in Gu’an County, is out of service for the moment.
The Layout of PKX Terminal
The PKX Terminal spreads over 7 levels. Indeed, it has five above-ground floors and two underground levels.
- Level 5: It houses all the retail stores and the dining options. Thus, the food court and shopping area of the PKX terminal are located here.
- Level 4: International and domestic departures are to be found here. In fact, 180 check-in counters for international passengers are centrally located on the PKX terminal’s fourth level, and 120 domestic check-in desks are situated on both sides.
- Level 3: The level that houses the domestic check-in for Air China and China United Airlines. Domestic passengers who travel with hand luggage can also benefit from the fast check-in procedures on this level. Finally, business travelers, VIPs, and elite members of certain airlines also check-in (for domestic flights) on Level 3 of the PKX terminal.
- Level 2: Domestic and international Arrivals. The domestic arrival hall and baggage carousels are located on that level. What’s more, travelers have access to taxis and the P1-P2 Parking Lots from Level 2 of the PKX terminal.
- Level 1: The international arrivals floor. The international baggage claim area and the customs are also to be found on Level 1. Moreover, passengers can access a taxi rank, and the bus stops from that level.
- Underground levels: The transportation center of Beijing Daxing International Airport. Please note that passengers can check in at the train station and head directly to their boarding gate.
Additional Information
- At Daxing airport, speed is everything. 5-G based technology and “smart” services eliminate waiting time. Facial recognition procedures make paper tickets useless while 400 self-service points make checking-in a breeze.
- Self-service baggage process is also applied to optimize the travel experience.
- You can track your luggage with the “e-tags” technology.
FAQs
What’s the main advantage of Daxing airport terminal building?
Despite being the second biggest terminal in the world, the Daxing airport terminal primarily caters to the passengers’ convenience as the maximum distance from the central hub to the boarding gates is only 600 meters or an 8-minute walk.
What’s the Daxing airport’s terminal layout?
Briefly, the two basement levels of the airport host the transportation hub (Daxing train and subway stations), while the first two levels house the arrivals (international arrivals in the first level and domestic arrivals in the second). The international and domestic departures are to be found on the third and fourth levels. Finally, Level 5 is where the food court and the vast shopping area are located.