Construction of Beijing Daxing International Airport has been completed as scheduled, with more than 60 airlines planning to operate from the hub when it opens end of this quarter.
The airport, expected to be one of the world’s busiest air traffic hubs, was completed as scheduled on June 30, and preparations for the start of operations continue, reported Xinhua News.
In the first half of the year, projects were completed on schedule and given the green light to be put into operation. These included the airport’s main construction, air traffic control and aviation oil facilities, and interlinked expressways and high-speed railway.
More than 60 local and overseas carriers plan to operate out of Beijing Daxing airport, according to the airport authority.
Last May 13, China Southern Airlines, China Eastern Airlines, Air China, and Xiamen Airlines sent their flagship models to join the airline’s first passenger airline test flight, landing safely on the runway.
Six major test runs are arranged to further assess the airport’s operation readiness and fix possible problems. There will be a total of 787 tests involving 500 flights and some 52,000 simulated passenger trips.
“It is the world’s largest integrated transportation hub. The terminal building is also the world’s largest built with a seamless steel structure, boasting the world’s first design of double-deck departure and double-deck arrival platforms,” said Bai Henghong, director of the Beijing Daxing International Airport project command of Beijing Construction Group.
The airport, scheduled to be operational before September 30, will become a pivotal air traffic hub for international travel to and from China, supporting China’s growth to become the world’s largest civil aviation market, which is forecast to be around the mid-2020s.
Located 46 kilometers south of downtown Beijing, it is designed to take the pressure off the overcrowded Beijing Capital International Airport in the northeastern suburb.
It is forecast to see its passenger throughput reach 72 million in 2025, and further increase to 100 million by 2040, when it is likely to surpass Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport in the United States to become the world’s largest airport in passenger throughput.
Photo: 王之桐
