Go with the Flow at Beijing Daxing Airport

Building a new airport from scratch is a multi-faceted, highly-complex endeavour. How people move around the airport is an important consideration in the process. Let’s take a closer look at what it takes to move people quickly and efficiently through one of the world’s largest airports.

The Starfish
Beijing Daxing International Airport opened in 2019 as the second international airport in China’s capital to accommodate the projected growth in the region. According to ACI World Airport Traffic Forecasts, China is expected to become the largest passenger market in 2031, surpassing the US and projected to continue dominating passenger rankings in 2040 with just over 3.6 billion passengers, an 18.3% share of the global passenger traffic market. 

COVID-challenges notwithstanding, the airport is already capable of accommodating 45 million passengers and intends to reach the 100 million-mark with planned expansions. Its striking design has earned the airport the nickname "the starfish".

Fixing the flow
To solve for the projection of moving 45 million passengers annually through the facility smoothly, the developers turned to KONE, with its 110-year history in the elevator and escalator industry. 

Not only did the KONE team have to find a solution to move such a large number of people, the airport is located in an active seismic zone, making it prone to earthquakes. 

In a video, Yang Lijun, Manager, Mechanical and Electrical Operations Department, Capital Airport Management Co. Ltd., describes how KONE provided solutions to help Daxing International Airport. Through these solutions, passengers are able to smoothly and efficiently move across 700,000 square meters, the equivalent of 98 football fields! Anyone travelling through the Starfish airport can traverse from the airport entrance to their gate in 30 minutes in the safe knowledge that the escalators have a tailor-made seismic support design. 

View the video.