Located 20 miles northeast of Beijing’s city centre, the Beijing Capital International Airport (PEK) is Beijing’s main international airport, owned and operated by the state owned company, Beijing Capital International Airport Company Limited.
Over the past decade the Beijing Capital International Airport has rapidly grown into one of the the world’s busiest airports in the past decade and was acknowledged in 2009 as the busiest airport throughout Asia with passenger traffic. From 2010 to 2013 the Beijing Capital International Airport was ranked as the world’s second busiest airport with passenger traffic and the second-busiest airport in the world in 2014.
Facts about the Beijing Capital International Airport
- The Beijing Capital International Airport which covers a total of over 3,700 acres of land was opened on 2 March 1958 during which it consisted of one small terminal building which may have been used for charter flights and VIP’s. On 1 January 1980, a much larger building was opened to facilitate the docking of 10 to 12 aircraft. However by the middle of the 1990s the building was considered as too small which led to its closure for renovations following the opening of the newly built Terminal 2 which was built in recognition of the Airport’s 50th anniversary.
- On September 20th 2004 the Beijing Capital International Airport opened a new Terminal 1 for a limited number of airlines, including China Southern Airlines’ domestic and international flights from Beijing while other airlines’ domestic and international flights still operate in Terminal 2.
- On October 29th 2007 the airport funded by a loan from the European Investment Bank (the largest granted by the bank in Asia) opened a third runway in an effort to relieve congestion experienced on the airports’ other existing runways and in time for the Beijing Olympics. The terminal which included a third runway and a rail link to the city-center was acknowledged as a major landmark representing Beijing’s growth as a developing Chinese city. Terminal 3 recognized as the second largest airport terminal in the world next to Terminal 3 of the Dubai International Airport, and the sixth largest building in the world by area.
- Immediately following Beijing’s hosting of the 2008 Olympic Games the Beijing Capital International Airport surpassed the Tokyo Haneda Airport as the busiest airport in Asia in flight bookings.
- Beijing Capital International Airport is the central hub for the Chinese International Airlines Company and the national airline for the People’s Republic of China, Air China which travels by way of several routes from Beijing to over 120 destinations worldwide. The airport is also used as a hub for the world’s fourth-largest airline China Southern Airline Company.
In 2013 the Beijing Capital International Airport was ranked 6th in the world with over 557,100 registered aircraft movements with take-offs and landings. In cargo traffic, Beijing Capital International airport has also observed a rapid growth registering over 1,787,000 tonnes to become the world’s 13th most busiest airport in cargo traffic.
Beijing Capital International Airport Media
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