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Air China to move into Beijing’s T3

Published: 08/01/2008 - Filed under: News »

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Air China is to start operating from the huge new Terminal 3 at Beijing Capital airport from March 2008. The new terminal will be the main base for the national flag carrier and its Star Alliance partners who serve the Chinese capital.

As the world’s largest terminal, with a floor space of over one million square metres, Terminal 3 will have an annual capacity of 40 million passengers. The scale of the operation is huge, with a new baggage-handling system capable of processing 19,000 bags an hour, space for 7,000 cars, and a 3.5km runway to accommodate the world’s biggest passenger plane, the Airbus A380.

The US$2.8 billion terminal was designed and built in a joint venture with British architect Norman Foster (Foster and Partners), Dutch airport planners NACO, and engineers ARUP.

Based on a “dragon” design, the building combines traditional Chinese colours and symbols with the latest technology. Energy conservation and sustainability were key to the design, and features include south-east-facing skylights, built to reduce lighting and heating requirements.

The terminal will be officially opened in March and will double the airport’s capacity to 80 million people a year.

For more information visit air-china.co.uk, bcia.com.cn. To read our review of Air China's business class offering, click here.

Report by Carmen Coyne

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