New Beijing terminal revealed

Details of the brand new terminal at Beijing Capital International Airport have been unveiled this week.

The airport's Terminal 3 has been built to cater for the extra demand for flights to the Chinese capital expected to be created by the 2008 Olympics.

Designed by Foster + Partners, the firm behind developments at Chep Lap Kok Airport in Hong Kong and Stansted Airport, the structure sprawls across 245 acres of space - far bigger than the new Terminal 5 at Heathrow Airport and set to be the largest building in the world when it is complete.

Travellers passing through the terminal next year will benefit from a sophisticated luggage handling system, a rail terminal to ferry passengers into the heart of Beijing and decor that carries subtle tones of traditional Chinese architecture.

The terminal is expected to increase the airport's total capacity to 62 million passengers, compared with the 48.6 million travellers seen last year at the hub.

Airlines that operate services to Beijing from the UK include British Airways, Aeroflot, Emirates and KLM.

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