Beijing Capital Airport

✅ Verified Review | Arrived into Beijing Capital from Honolulu on flight HA897. We arrived at the aerobridge, it was more than a smooth process when we disembarked and proceeded to the immigration and baggage claim. The ground staff were cheerful and helpful. The modernised design of the spacious terminal makes me feel like home. I was exhausted after the 13 hours flight from HNL, there were 2 pay-in lounges, one at the arrival hall, one in the transit area. PEK T3 is definitely my favourite airport in my home country.

✅ Verified Review | Connected at PEK T2 twice on a trip from AMS to SYD. In both directions, we had pretty tight connections to and from a domestic flight to/from CAN. Our itinerary was sold and ticketed by the airline and within the MCT, so we did not worry. We should have. On the way out to SYD, our PEK connection was scheduled to be just 95 minutes. Our flight in from Amsterdam departed on-time and touched down in PEK over 30 minutes prior to our scheduled arrival time. However, it took a while before we were able to deplane. At PEK, we got in line for immigrations. The line moved pretty quickly and it took just over 10 minutes. We were travelling under the 24 hour visa exemption rule which did not have a seperate line. As soon as the immigrations officer realized it needed to stamp a temporary access permit into our passports someone else whas called to bring the special stamp to that officers' booth. There was only one such stamp in the immigration hall. Keep in mind to show them your itinerary (eticket printout) and ask for "24 hour transit" or it will take a lot longer. After clearing immigrations you need to claim your luggage. There is no such thing as through-checks in PEK for a connection to a domestic flight. It took a while for our luggage to arrive and when it finally did, we followed the special CZ transit passengers route. We probably should not have. This was the weirdest part of our connection here. Immediately after entering the transit hall, we had to put our luggage, both checked and cabin luggage through a scanner. We needed to go through a metal detector ourselves. This was a chaotic process with too many people and too few staff. All batteries had to be taken out of our checked luggage and were sealed into a zip-lock bag with a number. We were handed a tag with the same number. After the metal detector, we had to open our checked luggage because it contained a Leatherman tool. "Knive, knive!" is the only english word the chinese official could say. After seeing it was a leatherman she was fine with it. Then we were sent to another desk to pick up our ziplock bag with batteries. Nothing was taken out. This process took over 20 minutes. We were now at T-50 minutes. At this point, I still thought that the next step would be to just drop our bags and walk to the gate. But unfortunately, it doesn't work like that in China. After walking out of the "transfer hall", we simply entered the main check-in hall of the T2 terminal building. We had to walk over to a CZ check-in area for our flight and get in line for a check-in desk, even though we already had a boarding pass, printed in Amsterdam for our next (domestic) flight. The problem is that check-in actually closes 45 minutes prior to departure! We waited in line at CZ domestic check-in, only to be directed to another special desk when it was our turn. We got there at T-42 minutes and the check-in staff was unsure whether our luggage would still make the flight. After some internal discussion, they decided to check our bags and told us to hurry. Yeah, really! Boarding had already started at that time. We got into another security line (note that we just went through full security in the transfer hall). From there we walked to our gate and got onto a bus to the plane with minutes to spare. The way back through PEK was even worse and also required us to check-in again, this time doing a dom to int transfer. Again, minutes to spare with some running involved.

✅ Verified Review | Went back to China for my December holiday with Air China flight to Beijing. I like PEK airport T3 for its specious terminal, modern designs. We arrived at the remote bay, but everything was fluent and efficient, including the bus ride. PEK airport is definitely my favorite airport and my top choice when I depart and come back to China.

✅ Verified Review | It feels like every time that I use this airport there is some kind of bad experience that sticks with me for the rest of the day. I live in China so I've used this airport many times, but yesterday has to be the worst. Arriving from Tokyo, I am immediately hit the with the longest customs lime that I have ever seen. While there were very few Chinese nationals to be checked through, there were hundreds of foreigners. Inexplicably, there were only three windows open to foreigners, and 5 windows open to the Chinese (3 of which weren't even being used). Sensing their own disorganization, they begin shepherding foreigners through the Chinese only line. Now, my girlfriend is Chinese, so she came up with me and explained the situation. Even though we were flagged through, and foreigners are doing the exact same thing a booth over, our customs agent decides to go on a tirade in Chinese about how my girlfriend would have to wait in a long line in the US, and that I should have to do the same thing. She was pretty typical of the rude staff that permeates Peking airport. Other people have mentioned the filth, and cutting in line. I'll add another one: they are very lax about the con artists they allow to roam the ticketing areas, trying to rip you off in plain sight. Don't let anyone try and "help" you with your bags. What more is there to say? Just like many buildings in Beijing, this is a flimsy package with pretty wrapping. If China wants Beijing to become a world city they have swallow their inflated egos and fix their mistakes. There is a chance you will come out unscathed, but 80% of the time you will regret trying to travel through here.

✅ Verified Review | I have the misfortune of living in Beijing, and therefore can't avoid using this airport for all of my travel. Everything about it is terrible, disorganised, short staffed and lacking in decent facilities. I actually prefer T2 mainly because it is smaller than T3 and therefore usually (but not always) less busy. They never have enough staff for immigration, either departing or arriving, and other reviewers are bang on when they moan about the security processes, which frankly stink. I don't think they care at all about making the journey through the airport anything other than a chore for any passenger. Doesn't matter if you go economy, business or first, it's still awful. My top tip would be arrive early, don't put any batteries, power packs, cameras, lighters, or anything else that may ever come in useful in your luggage, and just try your hardest not to get wound up by the total ineptitude of the entire experience.

❎ Unverified | Airport staff was rude. Security for transfer flights are slow. For international flights. Don't need such tight security for people with connecting flights. No need to go through Chinese costums when not entering the country. Transfers should made easier

Landed at Beijing Capital T2 and followed everyone to the exit. Initially looking for 72 hr transit, but that line was not open, so I went to the foreigner line. Took about 30-40 mins to get the visa. Make sure you have a pen, to add extra info on arrival card and to complete an application given by the officer there. By this time, a long line developed behind us. Customs line was long tonight, about 45 mins to get to the green line. All in all, took about 2 hours from exiting the plane to exiting the airport. Departure a few days later was typical for any airport. Security checks, check in and immigration in that order for T2. One week later, I transited thru T2. For international transfers, go thru 24 hr transit without leaving the airport. This is a non descript door before the immigration hall. You have to take a right u-turn to get into. Most people will likely miss this. There the guys got a detailed pat down examination, while my wife received a simple one. This will take you back to T2 international departure.

Let me start by stating that Beijing Capital Airport is terrible. I've been traveling for years and I couldn't believe the disorganization and lack of customer service. They treat everyone as a criminal or potential criminal, the security staff are terrible, male or female it doesn't seem to matter. They get hung up on stupid details about passports and tickets, and don't seem to understand their own processes. An example, I'm transferring through PEK and don't have my next boarding ticket yet. I need to go through immigration to get my baggage and tickets and transfer through. The security guard at immigration prior to the baggage and ticketing process won't let me through because he can't verify my next flight. By the way, there are several more security check points for them to check my tickets. How about, waiting for an hour in a security line for people with no carry-on luggage for over an hour with when I'm only the 10th person in the line. Or, at security, instead of taking just a computer and battery of your backpack they make you take out everything with a wire in it. There is no order here, no one picks up empty bins, if the metal detector beeps they just keep sending you through over and over. It's chaos. I'm avoiding PEK as much as I can from now on.

We traveled as a family (2 adults, infant and toddler) through China. Everything about this airport is awful in terms of service. We had two baby-carriages, a high-energy two year old and an infant on formula, and lots of baggage (2 heavy suitcases, 3 carry-ons, diaper bag, and infant coccoon). Staff do not understand the concept of gate-checking. That means when you leave the gate, the baby-carriage goes on the plane, and when you arrive at your destination, you receive your baby-carriage at the destination gate and not at baggage claim. This is an airport issue and staff on the airport have to handle it. They had no clue, neither the airline staff nor airport staff. We had to trek through the airport without a stroller and two kids. This was hell. We were given a pitiful excuse for a trolley (which barely takes two carry-on's, which doesn't go on walking-escalators. Walking with a half-asleep toddler (who needs to be carried) and an infant with 5 carry-on's is hell without a stroller. At immigration we were told we couldn't keep our mini-trolley. How do you expect us to carry our stuff? The lines were too long (not expedited for families with infants). They have no concept of processing a family together with my husband. He was forced to separate from us, and I needed him to help manage our children. I thought he was being arrested for not having a visa, the way they treated him. They don't explain what they're doing and they're rude and unforgiving. They're more interested in following protocol. It made no difference whether the immigration officer was male or female. They barely spoke English. They don't have any cultural understanding of Westerners. After they processed my 2 year old (I had not been processed yet) in immigration they said he can go through now. I asked them where exactly they thought he should go by himself as he is 2 years old. A security officer then picked up my child and moved him to the other side of the immigration gate. Security also - no trolleys allowed. I mean honestly, is it not possible to have a trolley for a family to carry their carry-ons on a trolley when they have an infant and toddler to manage? Walking through Beijing airport is also not pleasant. People routinely block pedesterian walk-ways, lines are not cordoned off, and signs, although they are written in both Chinese and English, are often unclear - it took us 20 minutes to find "gate 3" which is not a gate, but the entrance to the airport, on the first floor, "entrances" which they call "gates" that are even-numbered are on the second floor, with no indication of where entrances that are odd-numbered. For Terminal 2, Airport shuttle services are located on the first floor at 'entrance'/'gate' 3, there is no signage how to get there, until you're at the entrance, and then there is positive signage.

✅ Verified Review | Please avoid transiting with Air China. We had to wait for more than 1 hour in the queue for passport control and security. I almost missed my flight as I only had a 2 hour connection. I was traveling with an infant and a child and staff refused to let us go through the fast track and had to queue with my baby in my hand for more than one hour. Thank you very much indeed.