February 13, 2008

Asia | China | Beijing

Bigger is Better

By Steven Crook

Dwarfing Heathrow, and built on time, Beijing's new airport terminal goes for gold.

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Widely lambasted as “chaotic” and “grossly inadequate,” Beijing Capital International Airport should start to leap up the travel-experience rankings February 29 when it unveils the world’s largest airport building. The Norman Foster-designed Terminal 3 will be bigger than all of Heathrow’s existing terminals combined (as well as London’s much trumpeted T5, opening March 27). The ultra-modern glass-and-steel structure, inspired by the form of a dragon, “will celebrate the thrill of flight and evoke traditional Chinese colors and symbols.” Stretching over two miles long, the $2.8 billion terminal promises minimal transfer times for the 43 million passengers expected each year.

By April, BCIA will be linked to Beijing’s subway system. The timing, of course, is to make sure any Hong Kong Airport-style kinks — which could include problems with pigeons — are ironed out before the 29th Olympiad gets underway August 8, when a tsunami of visitors is predicted to make BCIA among the five busiest airports on the planet. But even with Terminal 3, BCIA won’t be big enough for long: China’s government is already scouting sites for Beijing’s second international airport.