Less than a year before opening, inventive details of Beijing Daxing International Airport take shape
- The world’s largest airport is designed to handle more aircraft and to keep passengers’ walks to a minimum
- It will feature five outdoor gardens at the end of the five wings where travellers can wait for flights
Family and friends will be able to literally see off their loved ones even after they pass through security checks when the innovative Beijing Daxing International Airport opens next October.
Standing on the fifth floor, the highest point of the world’s largest terminal, visitors will have a bird’s-eye view of passengers across a glass bridge after security screenings.
“Unlike the usual design that security checkpoints block visitors and passengers, people who see their family members and friends off can actually see them walk to the gates or wander about in the waiting area. It’s a very considerate design,” said Zhang Ru, spokeswoman for Beijing New Airport Construction Headquarters.
It is one of the many designs the new transport hub in the far southern end of the capital will have to offer. Spanning 47 square kilometres (18 square miles) and centring on a 700,000-square-metre (7.5 million-square-foot) terminal, the airport is a spectacular sight.
Its futuristic shape – resembling a giant hexagon starfish or an alien base, as dubbed by some internet users – is also meant to handle more aircraft and to keep passengers’ walks to a minimum.
