British Airways has announced it will move its direct flights between Heathrow and Beijing to the new Daxing airport from 27 October.
The move makes BA the first international airline to confirm it will shift its operations to the brand new airport.
Beijing Daxing airport features 52,000sqm of retail, food and beverage and service space, including more than 300 shops and restaurants, along with a new partner lounge, which BA passengers will have access to.
Located approximately 50km from both Beijing city centre and the Xiong’an New Area and 80km from Tianjin, the airport features transport connections such as four new highways, two new subway lines and a high-speed railway that will take passengers to Beijing West Station in under 20 minutes. A new terminal station is set to open in the Lize Business District within the next few years.
Daxing will also be the only airport in China to offer through check-in for foreign airlines.
The airport is due to open in September, initially with four runways and one terminal building. In the future, it will include an additional three runways and a second terminal building and is due to serve 100 million passengers each year.
BA says moving to Daxing will allow it to strengthen and develop its route network through its codeshare agreement with China Southern Airlines, which will also be based at the new airport.
The London-Beijing route will continue to operate as a daily service operated by a Boeing 787-9 in the winter and a Boeing 777-300 in the summer with four cabin classes.
Noella Ferns, EVP for BA in Greater China and the Philippines, said: “We are very excited to be moving to Beijing Daxing. Not only will the new airport offer our customers flying to and from Beijing a world-class experience, with state-of-the-art facilities including an improved lounge for our Club World and First customers, but it will also support our ambition to increase leisure and business travel between China and the UK.”
ba.com