Departure
95%
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MY FS FLIGHTS
MY FS FLIGHTS
Beijing Capital International Airport (ZBAA/PEK) is one of the world's busiest airports, sited in Shunyi District some 32 km northeast of downtown Beijing. It is a major hub for Air China, Hainan Airlines and SF Airlines, offering three long, ILS-equipped runways and a full suite of controlled airspace services, making it a significant but demanding destination for any simulated flight into the Chinese capital.
Beijing Capital International Airport is the primary gateway to China's capital, a state-owned facility operated by Beijing Capital International Airport Company Limited. It serves as the principal hub for Air China, Hainan Airlines and SF Airlines, and as a focus city for Sichuan Airlines, Shenzhen Airlines and Shandong Airlines. For a simulator pilot it offers the chance to fly a heavy-traffic ILS approach into one of the busiest airports on earth, with three parallel-style runway complexes and a dense multi-sector approach and tower structure to work through.
The airport lies in an exclave of Chaoyang District within suburban Shunyi, about 32 km (20 mi) northeast of downtown Beijing. It sits within a heavily controlled terminal area, with approach control split across six numbered Beijing Approach sectors and tower control divided between Beijing East Tower and Beijing West Tower plus a dedicated tower frequency for runway 01/19. Beijing's other major international airport, Daxing, lies some way to the southwest, and traffic between the two is coordinated within the wider Beijing terminal control area.
The field has three physical runways. Runway 18L/36R is 12,470 ft, hard-surfaced, lit and equipped with ILS on both directions. Runway 01/19 is 12,458 ft, hard-surfaced, lit and ILS-equipped on both directions. Runway 18R/36L is 10,493 ft, hard-surfaced, lit and ILS-equipped on both directions. Field elevation is 98 ft.
Approach control is split across six sectors: Beijing Approach Area 1 on 119.6, Area 2 on 126.1, Area 3 on 120.6, Area 4 on 119.7, Area 5 on 127.75 and Area 6 on 121.1. ATIS broadcasts on 127.6. Clearance delivery operates on 121.6. Ground movement is handled on 121.7 (Ground East and general Beijing Ground) and 121.9 (Ground West). Tower services are provided by Beijing East Tower on 118.5, Beijing West Tower on 124.3, and a dedicated tower frequency of 118.6 for runway 01/19. All three physical runways are equipped with ILS.
As a major controlled international airport, all arrivals and departures are conducted under full air traffic control through the Beijing Approach sectors, with sequencing onto ILS approaches to the appropriate runway and tower handover on the frequencies listed above; there is no informal or visual joining procedure of the kind found at smaller aerodromes.
Beijing Airport opened on 1 March 1958 with a single terminal building, still standing today and reportedly used for VIP and charter flights, alongside one 2,500 m runway on the airport's eastern side. That runway was extended to 3,200 m in 1966 and to 3,800 m in 1982. Capital Airport hosted the arrival of Air Force One carrying US President Richard Nixon in February 1972. Terminal 2 opened on 1 November 1999 to mark the 50th anniversary of the People's Republic of China, prompting the temporary closure of Terminal 1 for renovation; the renovated Terminal 1 reopened on 20 September 2004. A third runway opened on 29 October 2007 to relieve congestion, and Terminal 3 was completed in February 2008 in time for the Beijing Summer Olympics, at the time the largest airport terminal building in the world by floor area; its construction was partly funded by loans from Japan and the European Investment Bank, the latter the largest the EIB had granted in Asia. Following the Olympics, Beijing Capital overtook Tokyo Haneda as the busiest airport in Asia by scheduled seat capacity. In 2013 the airport handled 83.7 million passengers, making it the second-busiest in the world that year. Growing capacity constraints led to the construction of a second Beijing airport at Daxing, approved in January 2013 and completed in 2019, which took on China Eastern Airlines, China Southern Airlines and China United Airlines, while Air China and Hainan Airlines remained based at Capital.
Beijing Capital International Airport remains a major hub for Air China, Hainan Airlines and SF Airlines, and a focus city for Sichuan Airlines, Shenzhen Airlines and Shandong Airlines, operating from three terminal buildings connected by shuttle bus. The airport is equipped with two 4E-class runways and one 4F-class runway to handle the full range of wide-body airliner traffic. Given its status as a major controlled international airport, prior permission is required for any non-scheduled or general aviation movements.