Inside Beijing’s ‘new’ Daxing Airport

Opened in 2019, Beijing Daxing Airport opened to much fanfare with a stunning starfish-inspired design. With the pandemic and much in between, little information has been published online about the new hub airport for China’s capital. Here’s a closer look.

Thanks to Lloyd (@lloydnunag) for the photos.

Daxing’s starfish design is designed to make walking between connecting flights shorter and more efficient. It’s unlikely many international passengers have connected since opening…making it hard to test.

Domestic and International operations operate on separate floors of the terminal, making it easier to distinguish and navigate around the building. This was a domestic flight on China United.

The sheer height of the building can be seen through this outdoor view of the airport.

Once inside, you get a closer look at the layered design of the airport with easy access between levels on landside.

Signage appears to be quite clear at this airport for Simplified Chinese and English speakers. The major airlines operating domestic flights at Daxing including China Eastern and China Southern.

The usual slew of facilities can be found landside including toilets, baggage wrapping, shops and China’s answer to Starbucks - Luckin Coffee.

Check-in areas for domestic airlines appear to be permanently assigned to the carriers featuring heavy permanent branding in the specific areas.

While rules differ between countries, Daxing (and by extension China) appear to enforce the 100ml liquids rule on domestic flights when going through security checks.

Once through security, the terminal begins to open up and allow passengers to see the stunning Zaha Hadid designed terminal.

A surprising selection of shops can be found in the airside domestic departures area including foreign brands such as Estee Lauder and Starbucks. This part of the terminal would look much better in daylight hours.

Once through to the boarding areas, the design gets a bit more standard and recognisable to what you would get at any other modern airport facility.

What do you think of Beijing Daxing Airport? It looks a seriously impressive design - although I highly doubt I will pass through the airport any time soon.