I’ve written a lot in previous blogs about the expansion of Beijing’s ground transportation, namely the subway and bus systems. But city officials also are taking steps to ease air traffic congestion as the 2008 Olympic games approach. In fact, a third runway at Beijing Capital International Airport opened Monday.
The move is meant to help ease the traffic at what is China’s largest and busiest airport. The airport handles 1,100 arrival and departure flights every day, according to an airport spokesman. That number is expected to rise to about 1,500 and peak at 1,900 a day during the Olympics. Preliminary plans also are in the works for a second airport south of Beijing.
These plans are just another sign that China is opening itself up more internationally. Flying to China from the U.S. can be a real pain because only a limited number of airports are allowed to fly to China and there is a quota on how many per day are permitted. That means that only the largest American airports, such as Chicago’s O-Hare, New York’s JFK and Washington D.C.’s Dulles, run flights between Beijing and the U.S. Increasing flight traffic capabilities is one sign that the Chinese government might be ready to ease more of its restrictions.
It will be interesting to watch how this all plays out. My couple of experiences traveling through this particular airport in Beijing were neither bad nor good. Sure, the lines were long and hectic at times, but I think American travelers are accustomed to that. The bigger issue is whether more potential flights will drive down the price of air tickets to China or just make it more accessible for more people. Either way, it’ll be good to have this extra station in place for when the games hit town in August.
1 Comment
November 5, 2007 at 6:34 pm
There also are direct flights to Beijing from Detroit of all places …