BEIJING - Beijing opened a huge new $3.6 billion, Norman Foster designed airport terminal on Friday ahead of the expected influx of millions more visitors coming to this summer's Olympic Games.
A view of the interior of Beijing International Airport's new terminal on the outskirts of Beijing February 28, 2008. In preparation for a passenger surge during the 2008 Olympics this August, the newly-built No.3 terminal building at the main airport in Beijing started operations on February 29, 2008. [Agencies] |
The impressive new terminal's nearly 3-km (2-mile) long concourse, which is divided into three sections and connected by a shuttle train, will boost capacity at the airport to 76 million compared with the 52 million who used the airport last year.
Six airlines will use Terminal 3 initially, including Sichuan Airlines, Shandong Airlines, Qatar Airways, Qantas Airways , British Airways and El Al Israel Airlines .
More will move in from March 26, including Air China, Lufthansa , Singapore Airlines and other Star Alliance members, as well as Emirates and Air Canada .
The terminal is designed to look like a dragon, complete with triangular windows cut into the ceiling as though they were scales.
A train will zip people downtown in just under a quarter of an hour and the high-tech baggage system will handle 19,800 bags per hour.
The terminal also has special bridges to handle Airbus's giant double-decked A380.
It has almost double the number of boarding gates of the old terminals and nearly 300 check-in desks. The terminal has been build to maximise the use of natural light, with walls of glass.
