Beijing’s new Daxing International Airport moved closer to opening after completing its first passenger aircraft flight test May 13. The airport is set to open Sept. 30.
Four airlines, Air China, China Eastern, China Southern and Xiamen Air, sent their flagship planes — the Boeing 747-8, Airbus A350-900, A380 and 787-9, respectively — for the flight test. The planes took off, one after another, from Beijing Capital International Airport and landed at the new airport safely, less than 30 minutes later.
“The whole test flight was steady and smooth, the route design was optimised and reasonable, and the navigation and support facilities run well and fully met the navigation conditions,” said Zhang Tao, captain, A380. China Southern Airlines.
Commenting on the success of the flight test, Wan Xiangdong, chief pilot, Civil Aviation Administration of China, said, “The test shows that the new airport has now turned its focus from infrastructure construction to operation preparations.”
Construction is ongoing at the new airport, but expected to wrap up by June 30. The airport’s four runways expect to see 45 million passengers by 2021, with up to 72 million passing through by 2025.
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