More than 60 airlines plan to move their operation to Beijing Daxing airport which is set to become the largest in the world
After years of construction, the regular operation at Beijing’s new airport Daxing is now getting much closer. The Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC) has now approved new routes operated by four major domestic airlines.
China Eastern Airlines will provide a seven-weekly service from Daxing to Paris, Tokyo Haneda, and Seoul, as well as four times weekly to Moscow.
China Southern Airlines will connect the new airport with Moscow, Tokyo Haneda and the South Korean city of Cheongju seven times per week, and with Busan three times weekly.
Furthermore, budget carrier Beijing Capital Airlines will kick off a new route from Daxing airport to Busan four times per week.
And finally, another low-cost carrier, China United Airlines — a wholly-owned subsidiary of China Eastern — will fly seven times per week to the South Korean cities of Cheongju and Daegu.
Overall, more than 60 domestic and overseas airlines are planning to move their operations to the airport that is set to become the world’s largest.
With four runways, vast terminal building covering 700,000 square metres, and 268 aeroplane parking bays, Daxing should reportedly handle 45 million passengers a year by 2021 and 72 million by 2025. By 2040, the figure should increase up to 100 million.
British Airways head to Daxing in October
Apart from various domestic carriers, the new Daxing airport will also welcome other major players from overseas. The first airline that announced its relocation was British Airways. The UK’s flag carrier will launch Heathrow–Daxing service on 27 October.
Had the opportunity to visit ”soon to be opened” #Daxing airport in Beijing today, wow it is impressive? Finnair will fly 3 times per week to Daxing starting November this year! That means 10 flights to #Beijing per week #Feelfinnair See you onboard! https://t.co/9S9LFiuw4H
— Mikko Turtiainen (@MikkoTurtiainen) August 22, 2019
In addition, Helsinki-based Finnair will grow its Chinese operations in the country by launching three-weekly flights to Daxing as of 3 November, the company announced in a Twitter post.
China United Airlines is expected to become the first airline to move the operation to Daxing. The carrier will move from its current headquarters at Beijing Nanyuan airport.
“China United will move its 60 aeroplanes to the new airport […] as well as more than 4,000 employees before the airport starts operation,” said Wang Guangbin, deputy commander of China Eastern’s Beijing bureau.
