Beijing Daxing Intl Airport official name for new hub

Beijing's new airport is officially named Beijing Daxing International Airport and expected to open before Sept 30 next year, the Civil Aviation Association announced at a news conference on Friday.

The new airport, currently under construction along with other supporting facilities, is set to be completed on June 30 next year, said Liu Chunchen, director of the association's Airport Department.

"The new airport is the country's landmark project. The construction work has been smooth and the preparatory work for upcoming operations has been fully carried out," Liu said.

Liu said the main terminals have entered the stage of fine decoration, where mechanical and electrical facilities are being installed and the boarding bridge project is underway.

Ninety-three percent of the flight zone earthwork has been completed and the municipal transportation, such as the overpass entering and leaving the terminals, is near completion, he added.

According to an earlier plan, by 2025 the airport will have four runways and 268 parking bays that will accommodate 620,000 flights and handle 72 million passengers per year.

Previously, the naming of the new airport had involved disputes because it is located between Beijing and Hebei province. Beijing wanted to name it with Daxing, a district in Beijing, while Hebei preferred to have Langfang city in its name.

Later more parties joined in the fight, including a national political adviser who suggested naming it Jing Jin Ji International Airport (which stands for Beijing, Tianjin and Hebei), and a city development institute in Beijing suggesting the name of Beijing Xiongan International Airport.

The airport was designed to ease the traffic pressure of Beijing Capital International Airport and will serve as a second international aviation hub for the capital.

Beijing currently has two airports that serve commercial flights – Beijing Capital International Airport and Beijing Nanyuan Airport.