Photos: The World’s Largest Airport-Terminal Building

Alan Taylor
January 22, 2019
26 Photos
In Focus

Beijing Daxing International Airport is a massive complex built on the outskirts of Beijing, China, from more than 220,000 tons of steel, with a price tag nearing 14 billion U.S. dollars, and is set for completion in September 2019. The new facility—billed as the world’s largest single-terminal airport—will be Beijing’s second international airport, and developers hope it will relieve pressure on overtaxed existing travel options. By 2025, planners say Daxing will be able to carry as many as 72 million passengers a year.

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An aerial view of people working on the roof of Beijing Daxing International Airport on January 17, 2019, in Beijing, China #

Wang Mingzhu / VCG via Getty

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On December 26, 2014, a stone-setting ceremony for the new airport is held in Daxing District, Beijing, China. #

VCG via Getty

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Workers stand in the future landing-strip area at the construction site of the terminal for the new airport in Beijing's southern Daxing District on October 10, 2016. #

Thomas Peter / Reuters

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Workers on the job at the construction site of the terminal for the new airport on October 10, 2016 #

Thomas Peter / Reuters

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The construction site of the new Daxing airport on the outskirts of Beijing is pictured on October 16, 2017. #

Jason Lee / Reuters

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An interior view of the Daxing terminal hall, photographed on October 16, 2017 #

Jason Lee / Reuters

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Construction continues on Beijing's new international airport on January 17, 2018. #

VCG via Getty

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Sunlight streams into the interior of Beijing's new international airport, which is under construction, in Daxing District, Beijing, on January 17, 2018. #

VCG via Getty

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A wide-angle view of the terminal hall, photographed on January 17, 2018 #

VCG via Getty

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Another interior view photographed on January 17, 2018 #

VCG via Getty

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Workers stand in a crane inside the new roofed terminal building of the Daxing airport on August 30, 2018. #

Nicolas Asfouri / AFP / Getty

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A construction worker looks at the terminal building on August 30, 2018. #

Nicolas Asfouri / AFP / Getty

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A time-lapse view of satellite images of the new Beijing Daxing International Airport location, showing the changes from 2015, when the land was still covered by farms and villages, through 2018, as the terminal and runways were nearing completion. #

© Google

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The interior of the new roofed terminal building, seen during construction on August 30, 2018 #

Nicolas Asfouri / AFP / Getty

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A man works on the ceiling of the terminal hall during a government-organized media tour on August 30, 2018. #

Jason Lee / Reuters

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A wide view of the terminal hall under construction on August 30, 2018 #

Jason Lee / Reuters

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Construction-crew members walk near buildings under construction at Beijing Daxing International Airport on October 26, 2018. #

Mark Schiefelbein / AP

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Construction-crew members work on an elevated area inside the terminal building on October 26, 2018. #

Mark Schiefelbein / AP

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An aerial view of construction at Beijing Daxing International Airport #

Waitforlight / Getty

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Construction workers work on the airport-terminal ceiling on December 19, 2018. #

Shi Jiamin / VCG via Getty

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Construction workers walk outside the airport on December 19, 2018. #

Shi Jiamin / VCG via Getty

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An aerial photo of the new airport complex, taken on January 4, 2019 #

Wang Zirui / Barcroft Media via Getty

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An aerial view of the Beijing Daxing International Airport construction site on December 26, 2018 #

VCG via Getty

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A close, overhead view of the terminal building, still under construction, on January 13, 2019 #

Tang Wenjian / VCG via Getty

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An aerial view of the Beijing Daxing International Airport on January 17, 2019, in Beijing, China #

Wang Mingzhu / VCG via Getty

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The first airplane for inspection flies over Beijing Daxing International Airport on January 22, 2019. The airport embraced its first test flight as the plane landed steadily on the West One Runway on Tuesday. #

VCG via Getty

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