Airline/Airport Notices
BEIJING TERMINAL 3 AIRPORT
Beijing opened the doors at the end of February to its latest Olympic creation, a massive glass and steel airport terminal with a graceful sloping roof that will welcome visitors to the Summer Games.
Fronted by pillars of deep imperial red, Terminal 3 at Beijing Capital International Airport boasts polished floors and a high ceiling dotted with triangular skylights.
The huge, airy interior will have 64 Western and Chinese restaurants, 84 retail shops, and a state-of-the-art-baggage handling system. A high-speed commuter train will whisk passengers into the city, while the runway is capable of handling Airbus' huge A380 superjumbo.
The terminal is a centerpiece project for the Olympics designed to relieve the overloaded airport's other two terminals and accommodate expected rapid growth in the number of visitors to Beijing.
Six airlines began flying into the terminal on 29 February, while others will switch over from the other two terminals in March. The Olympics start August 8.
Designed by British architect Norman Foster, the building attempts to combine traditional architectural elements with up-to-date technology. Its red columns and muted gold roof are meant to evoke Beijing's imperial palaces and temples.
The floor space of the terminal and ground transportation center covers 14 million square feet (1.3 million square meters).
The Games are a source of great pride to the Chinese, and Beijing has been turned into a massive construction site over the last seven years as it undergoes a $40 billion makeover.
China's capital desperately needed a new terminal even without the Olympics, with double-digit economic growth rapidly outpacing infrastructure expansion plans. It expects the whole airport to receive 64 million visitors this year. That is up from 50 million last year and 20 million in 2000.
(Source: RTC Newsletter - VOL. 10 March 10, 2008)
More about Beijing International Airport Terminal 3
Practical points to remember:
T3 First floor: Post Office
T3 Second floor: A&C exit - Domestic Arrival
B exit - International Arrival
Snacks, Coffee shops, banks.
T3 Third floor: Airline Office
T3 Fourth floor: Domestic and internatational departure
All kinds of restaurants, Chinese, Thai, Western..
From T3 to T2, free shuttle bus available every 10 minutes departing from Gate 5.
From T2 to T3, free shuttle bus available every 10 minutes departing from Gate 11.
As one of the most important construction projects for the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games, BCIA T3 will be mostly into operation since 26 March 2008. T3 consists of three concourses: C, D and E with total scale of 1,000,000 square meters. Concourse C is domestic and international check-in, domestic departures, and domestic and international baggage claim. Concourse D is temporarily dedicated for charter flights during the Olympic and theParalympic Games. Concourse E is international departures and arrivals.
Starting from March 26 2008, following airlines will be landing at T3.
Domestic airlines
Shandong Airlines (SC),
Sichuan Airlines (3U),
Air China (CA),
Shanghai Airlines (FM),
International airlines:
Qantas Airways (QF),
Qatar Airways (QR),
British Airways (BA)
El Al Israel Airlines (LY).
Scandinavian Airlines (SK),
Austrian Airlines (OS),
Deutsche Lufthansa (LH),
Asiana Airlines (OZ),
Air Canada (AC),
United Airlines (UA),
All Nippon Airways (NH),
Thai Airways (TG),
Singapore Airlines(SQ),
Finnair (AY),
Cathay Pacific Airways (CX),
Japan Airlines (JL),
Dragonair (KA),
Turkish Airlines (TK),
Emirates (EK),
Air Macau (NX),
S7 Airlines (S7)
Egypt Air (MS).
Details of the flight arrival and departure information of the day available at:
http://en.bcia.com.cn/flight/flightinfo.action
