Three airlines to move to Beijing's new airport

BEIJING - Three airlines are set to move to Beijing's new international airport, slated to open in 2019, authorities said Thursday.

Cooperative agreements have been signed between the district government of Daxing, where the new airport is located, and China Southern, China Eastern and Capital Airlines.

China Eastern Airlines will build a 13.2 billion yuan ($2 billion) base at the new airport, where its aircraft maintenance, catering, ground services, cargo handling, offices, and employee accommodation will be located.

The airline aims to operate between 150 and 200 flight routes from the new airport, serving international destinations in the Americas, Europe, Australia, Southeast and Northeast Asia, among others.

China Southern Airlines will build a 1.08 million-square-meter base at the new airport for its 20,000-plus employees. The airline will operate 250 planes at the new airport by 2025.

Capital Airlines will operate 50 airplanes at the new airport in 2019 and the number of airplanes will be increased to 150 by 2025.

The new airport, located 46 km South of Beijing's city center, is being built to take pressure off the overcrowded Beijing Capital International Airport, located in the northeastern suburbs.

The distance between two airports will be about 67 km.

The new airport has been designed to handle up to 72 million passengers and 2 million tons of cargo each year by 2025. It will have four runways and accommodate 620,000 flights per year.