Can you name at least 3 cities with long-haul international airports? If you didn’t manage to, you will know of at least one in depth after reading this article. Joining the likes of Tokyo, London, and Paris, since September 2019 Beijing has 2 long-haul international airports, Beijing Capital International Airport (ZBAA) and the new Beijing Daxing International Airport (ZBAD).
China, known for expanding quickly, only took 5 years to complete the structural marvel designed by legendary Iraqi-British architect Zaha Hadid, that is Beijing Daxing International Airport. So why the need to build a second airport and can private charters expect to land in ZBAD?
Beijing Daxing International Airport. Photo: CGTN
ZBAA and ZBAD at a glance
Why Beijing Daxing International Airport was built
As Beijing’s main aviation hub, ZBAA is constantly full, it is not only the world's second busiest airport, but widely known to have the worst delays for landing and take off. There was a pressing need to alleviate congestion problems and ensure that flying in and out of Beijing would be an efficient experience.
With the construction of ZBAD, Beijing now has the capacity to handle more passengers. ZBAD was built with the intention of handling 300 take-offs and landings an hour, with 45 million passengers by 2021, 72 million by 2025 and 100 million by 2040. This is much higher than ZBAA’s capacity of 75 million and less than 100 takeoffs and landings an hour. The airport’s starfish design is also extremely space efficient, with a journey of just 600m from security to the furthest gate, and checking in is mostly automated.
Charters and landing in the time of a pandemic
As we are still in a pandemic, there are some processes and regulations that need to be adhered to when flying to Beijing. Domestic private flights are not greatly affected because an operator is just required to submit an application for a landing permit/slot to the Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC), along with a service request must also be sent to the FBO at Beijing Capital International Airport in order to get approval to land.
However, international private charters are only allowed to land in Beijing for the time being unless it is for the purpose of diplomatic relations. Clients are also required to present a Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) letter, issued by the client’s home country, which permits the client to travel to China.
Beijing Capital International Airport. Image by: Nigel Young, Tim Griffith, Ma Wenxiao
So where can international private charters land?
In addition to international private charters being unable to land in Beijing unless for diplomatic purposes, as of today, private fliers are still unable to land at Daxing airport because the FBO is still undergoing renovation, and has yet to be opened to receive private jets. Instead of landing in Beijing, private charters will most likely land in Tianjin instead which is the closest city to the capital.
Beijing Daxing International Airport. Photo: Schindler
Overall, flying into China is fairly complicated. China’s airspace is tightly controlled and few airports allow foreign-registered business jets to land. It is required of all aircrafts to obtain a permit before flying over the country or landing at its airports, and there is a significant amount of information needed for a permit.
The trip must also be planned meticulously such that the landing time, and the amount of time allotted for parking are in sync, in order to avoid complications and additional fees. As of now even for private jet flights, the aircraft can only be parked at ZBAA for a maximum of 48 hours, hence a 4 day stay in Beijing needs to account for ferrying the aircraft out and back into Beijing.
Beijing Capital International Airport.
Understandably, all this information can be confusing, and you may not know where to begin breaking it down but that is where we come in. APERTUS will always be up to that on the regulations established by the countries that you wish to travel to, and we will ensure that your private charter is carried out as efficiently as possible. Should you have any questions or concerns with traveling to a particular country/city, we will be ready to answer them, just reach out to us.