I've only been thru terminal 3 of this airport but it's certainly a nice enough place to be stuck on long layovers.
Theres plenty of charging stations around. The benches that are everywhere are comfortable enough to lie down on but there's also full lie down seat areas around if you want a bit more comfort.
Stupid wifi, only work for local people. Fancy building however useless. Less charging point and air condition almost not working in T3.
Clean restrooms, fast immigration process. Great sleeping cabin at Air China's First Class lounge. Disappointing: expensive shopping, Wifi authentication process didn't work at times.
Over capacity.
Departures always delay.
This is one of the worst airport that I've been to. The security check stuff took away my power bank as it has no marking stating the capacity. I had travelled to more than 10 countries with this power bank without any issue. After I expressed discontent, the guy yelled at me for 15 minutes asking me to get out of the airport. I'm very disappointed and upset. I strongly recommend avoiding this airport if possible.
I regularly transit Beijing Capital International Airport for domestic flights. The building complex is impressive compared to its international peers. However it provides a poor service that does not consummate its mega structure. The most pain is that one has to take a shuttle bus to change terminal. It is not easy to carry luggage on and off a crowded bus. The second problem is the poor working attitude of airport staffs. There has been a very significant drop in service quality since 2008 Beijing Olympics games. Immigration and security officers nowadays are usually impatient. Instead of helping a struglling tourist at the security checking gate, I have been scolded by them for small issues such as not stacking items neatly on the tray and not following the regulations printed on the wall. Even with 3 and 5 year old kids, my family was denied of using special immigration checkin passage. One staff told us that since they could walk, we should queue as everyone else. There are very limited choices of foods in the airport and the priced are jacked up too much. Toilets always have strong cigarette smoke.
Efficient as expected. However a little old compared with other new airports in China. We used Hainan Airlines lounge, full marks to it well maintained. Polite staff giving helping hand whenever they could. Check-in was equal to international standards. Happy to fly in hongkong express flight
I've never experienced such HORRIBLE customer service in my life. Imagine the frustration of being stuck in an international Airport where no one speaks English... I was coming off a flight for an international transfer to Japan. They gave me the wrong gate number. I was sent to so many different areas of the airport because no one wanted to be bothered or help me.. I was shooed off and ignored. . When asking for directions, the staff would point or shrug their shoulders. It's like they are just thrown into the job without training. I was treated bad and without courteousy. Now I've missed my flight and have to wait 24 hours to catch the next one. I will avoid all future flights and layovers in Beijing. These are the rudest people I've ever met in my life.
Terrible airport, never experienced such disgraceful organisation in the transfer area. Waited over an hour both times I was there to pass through security (international Trans) in what can only be described as a farce. People cutting line etc.
Once through facilities are abysmal, obviously have China's censored Internet access which doesn't help pass the time.
Looks beautiful, looks can be deceiving.
Beijing Capital International Airport is one of the China Airports located in Beijing. There are 1465 flights on 257 different routes from Beijing Capital International Airport, connecting PEK to 250 different cities in 62 different countries. The most popular routes connect Beijing to Shanghai, Chengdu, Shenzhen, Hangzhou and Guangzhou.
If you are a Chinese citizen and a electronic passport holder, you re lucky because you can just pass the custom by self service, skip the 300 people line and get it done in 20 seconds, pretty cool.
On the plus side there are free watering holes, good access to the city by rail. On the downside, slightly weak markings, often not working ATMs, lack of Western Union ...
Beijing Capital International Airport (PEK) is the main international airport of Beijing. People's Republic of China Located in the northwest, about 32 km from the city center, it is accessible to the city via the Airport Express. There are only 2 stops to pick-up passengers, Dongzhimen and Sanyuanqiao, fare 25 RMB per way.
The internet is really poor and the connection is always disconnected. Air China's service in the area is also poor. The responsibility of transferring a room is evasive.
The land area is very large. There are many public transportations to and from the airport, whether domestic or international. Because the airport is really too big, the airport has a long round-trip time and there are many flights, but the punctuality rate is caused by various reasons. It's a bit low, security is very strict, and there are few duty-free shops or catering stores.
The airport is very large, basically the signs are very clear, and you don t get lost
Beautiful airport! The design of the building is incredible, especially the exterior. It's incredibly huge compared to ordinary airports. The inside is very clean and it has many shops and restaurants.
We have used the airport a couple times for transit. Not impressed by the standards and facilities. Immigrasjon and security is a nightmare.
No smoking room, at the check-in need to throw away lighters.
Very good cheese pies, very good matcha cakes with red fruit herbal tea.
Airport top, unfortunately the lounge are not great
Pretty good airport- clean, big, and the architecture is just really nice.
Oh dear god where to begin...
The entire airport is FREEZING. We both had long heavy clothes and felt frozen here. If you have a long layover, bring layers.
If you have a long layover and are hoping to do a tour out of the airport, here's what you should know (scroll down to read more about the airport itself):
Sit in the front of your plane if you can. When you get off the plane, you're automatically funneled into a line where a shocking amount of people get in line to get the 72hr visa (was seemingly at least half our whole plane from LAX).
This line will move VERY slowly. We stood in the same spot for at least 30mins before it actually made a noticeable move. The reason this line goes so slowly? People haven't filled out the paperwork (that is available to the side of the desks with available pens--fill this out in line), they are just problematic, the ONE or TWO officers (no joke there was next to no one working the booth) granting the visas are fairly tough and stern, oh and people cut in line, repeatedly.
So if you want a possible idea of how long it takes, we started in line about 15ft away from the sign in the middle of the walkway, if you are there you know what I'm saying. We got in line at 6am, flight landed late (supposed to be 530am) and we did not receive our visa until 820am...
If you've booked a tour, that starts at say, 7am as ours was scheduled to, you can still make it to the Great Wall (the old part, not with cable cars) if you leave at 830. The agency we went with said that 830am is their cut off for the wall and they aren't kidding! Save yourself time to go through the maddening and chaotic security on the way back into the airport. If you leave for the wall at 830am, expect to spend 3mins there lol. Still worth it though.
More about the airport--there are no western snacks available in the mini stores. Literally just chocolates, dried fruits, alcohol, perfume, luxury clothing, weird stuff. So bring snacks with you if you are spending some time at this airport. The coffee shops are minimal in what they supply.
Oh and, NO VEGAN FOOD IN THE ENTIRE AIRPORT. Not even kidding!!!! We were starving and went to every restaurant to find something, it was next to impossible to find things that were even vegetarian. They cannot modify meals really either. So literally plan on starving or leaving the airport if you're vegan and need food.
We arrived at the terminal via 3 terminals. The facilities are a little old and not well managed. The distance from the gateway to the parking lot is very close to the parking lot, but there is no air circulation.
The photos featuring Beijing airport on its website do not really tell the whole truth about it. We travel with a tour group into Beijing Terminal 2 (international) and it looks old and outdated. Passengers unloaded onto bus and taxied to the building. Everywhere everything looks old and dingy. There is no billboard welcome to Beijing or China for that matter. Ghosh, it should learn from Pearson airport in Toronto and put some smiling politicians on big photos to greet passengers. We use terminal 1 to fly local and it looks a bit better. Needless to say, there is not much English speaking around so prepare to do some self-searching on your own. Signage is ok. It seems they are trying to renovate. I really have no idea how things were 10 years ago for the Olympic when things are quite behind today.
Great airport. Very big, but everything clearly arranged. The immigration with a visa worked great.
Had a 10 hour overnight layover at Beijing airport terminal 3.
Pros: the security worked for us. Granted, the staff seem a little hostile but they were efficient and professional and we were through in a few minutes. The airport s interior design is modern and good-looking, and our flight was on time with customer boarding being well managed. There is free drinking water available.
Cons: we booked a hotel nearby to sleep overnight, but could not get out of the terminal despite having visas. Service staff spoke only a little English and directions were unclear (we were told to take the stairs to leave but stairs were nowhere to be seen). We ended up giving up on our prepaid hotel and sleeping on seats at the gate instead. WiFi doesn t work. If you plan to spend money, have local currency with you! There are no ATMs and the currency exchange counter does not accept non-Chinese credit/debit cards. The vending machines are half empty. There is nothing to do - a few high end cosmetic shops and 2 Starbucks cafes/1 Costa cafe. My partner was sick but the first aid room was locked with the lights off and based on interactions with staff I doubt we would have had any English-speaking support had his condition deteriorated.
Overall the airport looks smart and modern at first glance, but would advise against long layovers there if possible, due to lack of supporting services.
If you love duty free shopping and long lines then this is the airport for you! Multiple times I was passing through here they seemingly were always understaffed and/ or the people had a general malaise for working at any speed. They took their time to pass people through security; taking seemingly random care for certain items and confiscating whatever they wanted -I can only assume most of what they took wasn't based in a security concern -toothbrushes?
The international terminal has plenty of duty free shops but lack a complete variety in restaurants. If you wanted to sit somewhere for a drink and some food be prepared to wait an hour before you're served. I would just suggest hitting up the duty free shops and binging on a bottle of something and all the chocolate you can eat.
-Good luck.
Reached Terminal 3 at mid night. Took 25 minutes to clear the immigration - a bit too long. During departure, queue was long too. Many shops closed early. They switched off departure gate lights at around 1 am, which became very dark.
Flight transfer here.
The security check was tight and we had no time to read instruction on screen. Staff not friendly and useful, they forced us moving quickly although there was no place to move.
I lost some items here after doing security check because I was in hurry and they changed the tray without notice.
In Gate rooms, there was a few seats for hundred of people, many people had to sit on floor.
generally well-maintained, save for some of the drinking fountains being sketchy asf. domestic flights are frequently late, but if the delay time is exorbitant they will provide you with meals
International aipport should have food ingredients in English written in shops and a airport should be warm unlike bejing airport but still good airport
Possibly the rudest place in the universe. Quite alike to some people posting before me, I also experienced confiscation of my power bank, the guy at security literally took it from my hand when I was packing, grabbing it from me using physical force. The so-called reason was that the writing stating the capacity came off the powerbank, and when I offered to show them the model online (to show capacity) they declined stating that the powerbank is a possible threat to China. What is really happening is that they are a threat to this planet being a better place. I am committed never to step my foot in that place ever again.
Not enough signs to get to the right place and not enough showers
A little confusing and our power bank was thrown away
Pros: big and clean. beautiful interior. not so crowded
Cons: almost nothing to buy souvenir (Chinese snacks) and eat. Just a lot of brand name shops here
worst airport. the toilets there are just awful, smelly and disgusting.
Airport design is spacious and modern but for shopping addicts not too much choice. Please always consider quite long waiting times for immigration, customs and security check. From checking to gate it can take up to 45 minutes.
This airport is a very beautifull airport of chiana because its terminal interiror is oswm
I recently traveled to Beijing Capital International Airport. My experience was great! Our flight landed as scheduled and from there it was very clear how to navigate our way through to get to customs. The customs process was very easy and did not take a long time at all! Once I got through customs it was very easy to claim my luggage in baggage claim. The airport is so appropriately signed that it is very easy to find where you're going. Additionally, the area for pick up is very organized and very easy to find transport! I found this airport to be an awesome experience! I highly recommend!
A big airport.
I walk a lot to move
Massive airport and good security check in detail. They want to make sure that we are all save.
The procedure for transferring the airport from the international terminal to the domestic one takes a long time, the domestic terminal only speaks Chinese, so it is quite difficult for people who do not know Chinese.
Wi-fi doesn't work terrible customer service to get to a connecting flight even on the same airlines. Busses from your gate to an airplane a mile away on the tarmac to climb stairs with every Chinese person pushing and shoving like you don't have assigned seats. After going through customs only to have our passports and boarding passes checked 4 more times while in lines of pushing and shoving Chinese passengers. Restrooms are old dingy and falling apart, restaurants are scarce.
One of the worst airports ever. There is no heating in the terminal building, It was freezing cold. Even in the Business class Llounge, there is no heating. If you can avoid this airport, do so! Security staff was rude and only little english is spoken. There are no smoking rooms inside the terminal, Smoking is only possible outside in Front of the terminal, but you need a Visa or a temporary permission to leave the building. Lighters are taken away during Security Checks. However, there is free WiFi available, but of course censored, so some Sites will Not be available.
Airport staff must be trained in service and take the evaluation test later.
Unkindness is the highest level on earth.
It is a little different from Korea in that ticketing is done after passing the check-up
Do not be embarrassed when you visit and proceed to ticketing ~ ^^
Very nice and well organized airport. Friendly and helpful staff. Clean environments.
We have stopped here a couple of times on our way to Thailand. Very spacious, clean and tidy .
Very big and beautiful airport
But the transfer speed is quite slow, I do n t know why the customs counters of international transit customers are so rare and slow
Other OK
What a garbage dump of an airport. The only airport I've ever been in that has a BVULGARI and La Mer right next to a restroom where you have to squat over a literal hole in the ground while your shoes marinate in someone else's urine. The customs agent issuing day visas for those who'd scheduled tours denied a huge group of American tourists. No one could leave the airport for their tour. When asked why, they laughed and said 'No reason.' I refused to leave until I got a reason and the girl just said 'not enough time for tour; tour company want your money, no one leave today.' But it was arbitrary, and they allowed others to leave for the day. Just not the white folks. Security is a mess. They go through your stuff THREE times; they dumped out my entire carryon bag and didn't even look through the stuff; just dumped it out so I could repack it. Some people were allowed to keep their water after customs and immigration, others had it taken away. No rhyme or reason to anything; you're subject to their whims and forced to deal with one rude person after the next. I will never fly through Beijing again.
Not very convenient in terms of transferring flights, long walking. Hige wait at security check, have to take out every important thing out of your bag, and staff don't usually speak good English.
More than 2 hours of waiting for a simple check of hand luggage during a transfer. While they had already been checked on the first flight.
That agents of about twenty who are zealous and drag out controls and take themselves for the kings of the world.
Be ready for a long queue always, I've been flying with Air China often, I wonder why the always open 1-2 kiosks while checking in and leave the other desks free, and same situation with security check also, they could have put more staffs in but instead they choose to make customers wait. But the airport is clean and modern, and has good connection to the city.
Concerning the hugeness of the airport, indeed it is huge but that's not a problem because you don't need to do long walks to reach your gate or whatever actually. Everything was pretty well indicated in english. I really didn't like the behavior of most workers, though. I felt like the foreigners are differently treated from local people, they rarely say "please" when they ask you to do something. When they want you to move somewhere (else) or stay somewhere (else) they don't tell you anything but start to make gestures with hands to make you move. They're rude and impolite so be prepared for that. Also, a lot of them look worn out and bored (give them some rest!). I've never seen such a big airport with such a bad wifi! We had a one day's layover in Beijing and we took about 3 hours to finally leave the airport. Otherwise, it was a good experience. You clearly feel that you're in an other country, China. But I still recommend that airport (at least one time in your life!).
this is the worst airport to have a layover in. It looks very modern although desolate. Only expensive makeup and jewelry, tobacco and alcohol in the duty free section. No books or reading material whatsoever to buy if you like to read on your flight. Lots of stores in the process of being opened. The mediocre food that they offer is expensive, dirt quality/ready made or been sitting on a display since who knows when, and every single employee I encountered was rude. Forget that they don t speak English, they are Chinese after all and living in China. But there are no menus to point at for non Chinese speakers and absolutely NO customer service. I bought a muffin for my daughter and I and the clerk pretty much slammed them in front of us.The WiFi there doesn t work. I was not the only person who could not use their free WiFi, which on a 3 hour layover is very frustrating. Also if you smoke, there is absolutely no smoking area, in fact they take lighters and matches away at the security checkpoint, even if your origin airport allowed it. Same goes for portable battery banks, oddly they have a sign up that says portable batteries are allowed in carry on, but they will confiscate then anyways if they are over 100 wh. They have a separate small sign that states this, though no where near the sign that says they re allowed. The guards confiscated my brand new battery bank. They also seem to laugh and joke amongst each in Chinese when people would have things taken from them. Although my air China experience was nice, I would not utilize them again if I had to come anywhere near this airport.
immense airport but everything works with precision, many meticulous checks and beautiful interior and very clean
Nightmare for immigration checkin. The terminal itself is too large with no reason. Lucky enough, i don't have any transfer flight. I only have one problem with the taxi driver, who just know nothing even i gave him the destination name in Chinese.
One of the biggest airports but now another bigger than this is being constructed in Beijing, hopefully will be operational till October 2020.
There are three terminals of this airport, 1 and 2 are at one place, terminal 3 is a little bit far, so you have to take subway (which is inside airport). People are friendly but if you find language gap use google translator (download offline pack in advance, because google doesn't work in China).
Unfriendly to aggressive staff.
Never again as a transit airport.
Not a single legal way to smoke.
One of the best airport for its size. Very modern. Many restaurants and lounges. Terminal 3 is mainly for Air China. Most US flights are from terminal 2. You can take subway directly from terminal. Very easy to get in and off of this airport.
The Beijing Capital Airport has a large area and novel architecture, but the charging socket is pitiful.
Transfer International (including Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan) are all in Zone E, but the transfer immigration check counter and the security check aisle are seriously inadequate, and the instructions are unclear, which is likely to cause confusion.
There are not many types of shops and restaurants, and there are no facilities to pass the time.
In short: it s boring to be so beautiful.
Large and orderly, with good train system between terminals. Check-in areas are always crowded though. It's better and cheaper to buy SIM card in Beijing. There're some automatic machines for SIM card, but they are always out of order, and people nearby will sell the same SIM cards at much higher prices.
Worst airport I've ever been to. No one wants to help you find the right information you need. No one is interested in processing passengers as quickly as possible. It's chaos most of the time. As a result I won't be travelling through Beijing anymore.
