Beijing Daxing Intl Airport (PKX) Flights & Flight Status

Beijing Daxing International Airport (PKX) is the newest airport in in the city and is nicknamed the starfish. Right outside the Chinese capital, Daxing has a gorgeous design with plenty of curves. Zaha Hadid, the starchitect, designed the beautiful terminal building, and it is one of the most original airports I have ever had the chance to spend time in.

It’s home to seriously advanced facial recognition software in use throughout the airport, expediting processes like customs and security screening in mind boggling ways. It's a taste of the future. Here are my tips for visiting Beijing Daxing International Airport.

Location

PKX is just under than 30 miles from city centre of Beijing. I love using this airport as it is close to the city and very well connected to the region. Also, if you are travelling around China, this is a great airport to frequent.

Train to the airport

The quickest way to get to the airport is the new Daxing Airport Express subway line. It runs from Caoqiao Station to the airport in 19 minutes and is very inexpensive for such a convenience.

Driving to the airport

There are taxis and car services (perhaps booked through your hotel), and ride shares also. These should take just over an hour, and about 30 minutes more if there is bad traffic.

If you perhaps are driving and need to park, this airport has an enormous, automated parking facility with thousands of parking spots inside the parking structure as well as outside the airport. There are electric charging stations and car wash facilities, too. The parking facility is easy to find on both the north and south sides of the Daxing airport terminal, and you can walk right into the terminal from both.

Car rental

In China renting a car is complicated. If you are not a Chinese citizen, note that foreigners aren’t automatically allowed to drive cars, even with an international licence. There are special procedures to get permission to rent a car, but you will have to work with a travel agency in advance to facilitate that.

The car rental companies are located directly in the terminal, but you cannot just show up at the desk as a foreigner. You will need to present your prearranged booking and special government allowance.

Bus to the airport

There are also six local bus routes reaching the airport. Xinghang Lines 1 to 5 connect the airport to various major Beijing hubs, including the main, west and south railways stations. Xinghang Line 6 operates late nights and into the early mornings. It takes up to two hours to reach the airport by bus and is not expensive, but the subway express is therefore a much better idea, I find.

Check-in

The contemporary and advanced features of this airport have also allowed Daxing to make checking in easy. There are now advanced check-in machines that take a maximum of 10 minutes, using a facial recognition system so that you don’t need a passport or any other identification.

Terminals at PKX

There is only one giant terminal at Beijing Daxing International Airport, and it is the biggest single-terminal building on the planet. It has seven floors—five above ground and two underground. Due to the tentacle design (imagine a kind of octopus), the walking time between areas is never more than 8 minutes, and thus the terminal is more convenient for just about everyone.

There are also various outdoor terraces. Depending on the day’s air quality, these are great places to get outside without having to leave the airport building.

5G Wi-Fi

There is nothing I love more than new tech, and this airport has it all. You can get 5G speeds here, and you can connect to it with your passport or if you have a local SIM card.

Which airlines fly to PKX

SkyTeam has most of their airlines here, but United Airlines is also here. Air China now has many flights through here, too. These are often changing, so I would check carefully when booking flights.

Lounges

Daxing airport has so many fantastic lounges. Some are for VIP travellers only and must be booked beforehand, and your hotel or travel agency can advise on those. I love the East Pacific Group’s East Traveler Lounge on the 3rd floor by international departures.

You can pay to get in or use your Priority Pass membership. It is open 24 hours per day and they have a fabulous bar where you can definitely meet interesting humans.

Special amenities

PKX has every new amenity you can think of since this airport is so new, and they are also constantly adding experiences and special events. I have spent a lot of time at this sumptuous airport, and I have to say, I have enjoyed it a lot. There is an excellent yoga room located on the international departures area right on the third floor, where I have spent time.

Things to do at the airport

One of my favourite features is the five gardens at the end of each departure corridor, inspired by Chinese history. They are traditional gardens called silk, tea, porcelain, countryside and Chinese. If you need some zen time during travels, this is where to find it.

Airport hotels

The Aerotel is the terminal airport hotel, and I love it as it’s within 5 minutes of walking to the check-in desks. The rooms are small, but with gargantuan televisions. There is also a fitness centre and I have met such interesting people in the hotel game room here, so look out for that.

There are various other options in all price ranges, but also note that some hotels do not take reservations from non-Chinese citizens, so always check before booking.

Luggage storage

I have trekked and travelled China extensively and have many times needed to just leave some bags at the airport. Daxing is well equipped for that. You can store luggage and other items for up to 90 days here, and the facilities are easy to find. They are on the east side of the domestic arrivals hall (second floor) and are open from 7 am to late night. There is another facility by international departures that is open 24 hours.

Banking at the airport

This airport has multiple ATMs and currency exchanges. There is also a giant Bank of China on the fourth floor of the terminal that is open from 9 am to 5 pm. It is a full-service bank, and there are a few other banks on the third floor, too.

Customs

My advice is to be careful with customs and declarations in China in general, including at this airport. There is a long list of prohibited items for import or export, including any audiovisuals that oppose Chinese morals, for instance. Also, you need to declare all relics or antiques you’ve purchased, or anything that might be labelled as commercial materials.

Trust me that they are strict and you want to avoid any issues in this regard here at Daxing. I have no social media whatsoever, and I advise people to temporarily delete their apps from their phones for a visit to China.

Visa-free stay

I love that this airport offers the 144-hour visa-free program to visit Beijing (plus Tianjin and Hebei) for visitors from some select countries. Between these countries you can find Canada, the US, Australia, the UK and of course several Asian, and European ones.

You just need to show an onward ticket, and you can complete the paper work on arrival in Beijing.