One of the world’s largest airport terminal buildings, the Beijing Daxing International Airport, opened on Wednesday 25 September in the Chinese capital. The starfish-shaped building, designed by the late renowned architect Zaha Hadid, is expected to overtake Hartsfield-Jackson in the US for the title of world’s busiest airport, when it eventually reaches full capacity in the next several years.
As flight shaming grows in Europe, where people are opting to catch trains instead of flying to minimise their carbon footprint, China is expanding its capacity to facilitate air traffic. However, Daxing airport building has been designed to be eco-friendly and save energy with the use of natural light ‘to guide passengers in their various journeys’.
The new terminal will be Beijing’s second international airport and is situated 47km from Tiananmen Square. It’s currently able to handle 45 million passengers per year, however, according to CNBC, ‘there are plans to expand the airport’s capacity to 72 million by 2025, and ultimately 100 million, according to the Centre for Aviation.’
Beijing’s first airport, the Capital International Airport which opened in 1958, is already the world’s second-busiest airport, after Atlanta’s Hartsfield-Jackson, according to Airports Council International.
The 1.4 million square metre terminal is the world’s largest single building terminal, but biggest doesn’t necessarily mean best. Although Beijing’s new mega terminal has five gardens for people to relax in, it will need to offer travelers a spectacular overall experience for it to rival the airport voted number one in the world in the annual SkyTrax Awards – Singapore’s Changi, which has held the title for seven consecutive years.
Daxing International has four runways, parking for up to 268 aircraft, two departure levels and two arrival levels. The building has high arched ceilings and makes use of natural light and visitors to Daxing airport can expect customer-service robots rolling through the terminals to help passengers with flight updates.
Feature image: Photo: Chinatopix/AP
Also see: Inside Singapore’s Jewel Changi Airport
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