Beijing airports expect big traffic during holiday

As the eight-day National Day holiday approaches, Beijing's two airports — Capital and Daxing International — are expected to see nearly 3 million passenger trips during the period.

China's National Day and the Mid-Autumn Festival holiday will last from Oct 1 to 8.

China's Beijing Capital International Airport is expected to handle 2.19 million passenger trips from Sep 28 to Oct 11, an average of 156,400 per day, the airport said on Sunday.

The airport is expected to see 14,300 takeoffs and landings. Outbound peak is expected to fall on Oct 1, with 84,000 passenger trips estimated to leave the airport. The inbound peak is estimated on Oct 7, with 89,000 arrivals.

According to Li Yang, manager on duty at the airport's operation control center, most trips are for domestic travel or visiting family and friends during the holiday.

Although the COVID-19 pandemic has gradually been brought under control in China, the airport will still carry out strict procedures to prevent the spread of the virus, such as testing body temperatures and requiring passengers to present their "health code", Li said.

He also noted the weather forecast showed no signs of extreme weather in Beijing during the holiday.

Beijing Capital International Airport — the second-busiest airport in the world after the US's Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport — handled more than 100 million passenger trips last year.

The capital's other aviation hub —　Beijing Daxing International Airport, which opened last Sept 25 — is expected to see 750,000 trips during the holiday, the airport said on Friday.

The new airport aims to take pressure off Beijing Capital.