Airport Information:
Beijing Capital International Airport (PEK)
北京首都国际机场
Běijīng Shǒudū Guójì Jīchǎng
Arrival:
We will be arriving in Terminal 2
Terminal 1 = domestic flights only
(Hainan Airlines only)
Terminal 2 = domestic and international flights
(including Northwest Airlines)
Terminal 3 = domestic and international flights
(including United Airlines, American Airlines, and Air China)
We will arrive in Terminal 2. We’ll get our bags and proceed through customs to eventually meet representatives from the Soong-Ching Ling Foundation in the reception area of the airport. We will then use the local bank/ATMs to exchange money into yuan, and finally take a chartered bus to our first hotel. It can be quite crowded here, so stay with our group and never leave your luggage unattended.
Phone:
001 + 1 + Area Code + Tel. # / Call China from the U.S.:
011 + 86 + City Area Code + Tel #
(BeijingCity Area Code = 10)
Time zone in China:
GMT +8
12 hours ahead of Notre Dame;
13 hours ahead of Omaha;
18 hours ahead of Hawaii
Bank:
1 U.S. dollar = 7 Chinese Yuan (元)
We will get our bags, go through customs, and be received by the SCLF workers. Shortly after, we will use the bank (in the airport near this meeting area) to exchange money.
Notes:
You are expected to obey any Chineseairport rules (as well as American) when here.
According to the requirement of inspection and quarantine authorities, passengers are (sometimes) required to fill out an Entry Health Quarantine Declaration Card.
Make sure to have your passport with you – it will be checked.
You will also need to fill out both an Entry Registration Card and Declaration Card (located by customs/on airplane respectively)
Details:
BeijingCapitalAirport (Chaoyang District)is located 20 km (12½ miles) northeast of the center of Beijing city. It is currently the busiest airport in the People's Republic of China, having registered double-digit growth annually since the SARS crisis of 2003. In 2004, it became the busiest airport in Asia by aircraft movements, overtaking TokyoInternationalAirport (Haneda). It now registers 1100 flights a day, and is expected to rise to 1500-1600 at the Olympics in August.
The newest terminal (Terminal 3) just opened on March 28, 2008, making the airport the largest in Asia in land size and one of the world's largest in capacity and land size – it’s expected to handle 64 million passengers in 2008 (due to the high demand from the Olympics).
Terminals & Gates (no map available):
The airport has three terminals.
Terminal 1 serves mainly Hainan Airlines domestic flights;
Terminal 2, far bigger than T1, serves China Southern Airlines, China Eastern Airlines, Skyteam, and other domestic and international flights (including Northwest Airlines);
Terminal 3, the newest terminal (opened March 26, 2008), serves Air China, Shanghai Airlines, Star Alliance, Oneworld, and other domestic and international flights that do not operate from Terminals 1 and 2.
Terminal 3:
T3 opened in 2 stages: February 29, 2008 for trial operations and March 26, 2008 for business. It mainly houses Air China, Oneworld, Star Alliance, and other domestic and international flights. It is composed of three sections, C, D, and E (to avoid leading passengers to Terminal 1 or 2 when seeing the letters A and B). T3-C,D, and E are linked by an inter-terminal train.
Far grander in size and scale than the existing terminals, it is the largest airport terminal building complex built in a single phase with 986,000 sq. meters in total floor area. It features a main passenger terminal (Terminal 3C), two satellite concourses (Terminal 3D and Terminal 3E) and five floors above ground and two underground.
Many traditional Chinese elements were employed in the terminal’s interior decoration. The T3 food-service area is called a “global kitchen,” where 72 stores will provide food ranging from formal dishes to fast food, from Chinese to western, from bakery goods to ice cream.
Terminal 3C – Air China (Domestic), Shandong Airlines, Shanghai Arilines
Terminal 3D - This will be used for charter flights during the Beijing Olympics, then will be used for international flights
- Terminal 3E - Air China (international), Air Canada, Air Canada, Air New Zealand, American Airlines, British Airways, EgyptAir, Japan Airlines, United Airlines, US Airways, etc.
Customs
All inward/outward passengers, except those who are exempted from Customs inspection and control in accordance with relevant regulations or those under the age 16 who are traveling with accompanied adults, shall make a factual declaration to the Customs at airports of entry by completing a Declaration Form.
Passengers who select “No” in all the items on the Declaration Form may choose to go through “Nothing-to-declare Channel”(“Green Channel”) for Customs procedures. (this will be us, unless you have something you really want/need to declare).
Those who select “Yes” in the items on the Declaration Form shall provide in the corresponding spaces such details as details as description (type of currency), quantity (amount),model, etc., before choosing to go through “Goods-to-declare Channel”(“Red Channel”).
Fun Facts:
- Due to the rapid growth of passenger and traffic movements and the limited space for expansion, and since 10,000 people had seen their homes destroyed for Terminal 3 and the new metro line, the Airport authority plans to build a new airport within Beijing, to begin construction in 2010 and finish at 2015, however, it will not affect Beijing Capital International Airport.However, upon completion of the new airport, all international routes will be transferred to the new proposed airport. The capacity of the new planned super airport is around 70-100 million.
- From 2000 BeijingCapitalInternationalAirport handled 21.7 million passengers, ranking 42nd in the world and in 2006, it handled 48.5 million passengers, jumping from 42nd place to 9th place in only 6 years.
- According to the Forbes magazine, the airport has been voted the 2nd worst in 2007 in terms of punctuality
- Terminal 2 opened on November 1, 1999, a month after the 50th anniversary of the founding of the People's Republic of China
- The airport has been criticized because of the lack of shopping facilities
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