Beijing Capital Airport

Beijing Capital Airport Terminal 3 is meant to be one of the biggest terminal ever built, it is the hub for Air China. I used the airport to transit in April. Upon arrival to Beijing, the whole transfer area was operated by one staff. After I collected my boarding pass, I tried to find my way to security check, signs was not clear, and finally an immigration officer guided me to the correct place, where there was not a signal sign or indication for transfer. I joined the queue for security checks, the queue was messy and very disorganise, and staff try to rearrange the passengers queue by shouting. Do Air China really think a normal living room size area can handle all the passengers? The queue was oversaturated to a point the immigration officer has to stop, so that security checks downstairs can clear some of its backlog. The security check was unprofessional, there were two desk for passenger to put their belt, items onto the tray, the used tray was return manually by staff, the flow of the security check was and is extremely inefficient. After about 1.5hr wait, I passed the security check. The wifi in the terminal is very slow, and required complex authentication. You may even have problem sending text via Whatsapp. The food choices in the terminal is limited, over-priced, and most important unhygienic. I can see the condition of the kitchen was not very appealing. I went to a massage centre after almost need to google where the centre is. The masseur was not professional, despite I paid an expensive fare for this. The air conditioning in the terminal shuts at very early hours in the evening, and the airport becomes very dark if you have a midnight flight. The toilets are dirty!

This airport should be avoided. It is not suitable for transit. We never found the way to the hotel, because nobody speaks English and able to help. We were sent from place to place, and eventually were told to call the hotel. We managed to find the phone and call but staff answering us did not speak English and call was interrupted. I don't know how they do business there, but the result is pretty awful, numerous delays at every single point. Sleeping lounge is awful too, 120$ for 4 hours, nobody speaks english, very loud outside so we couldn't sleep. No restorant was open except family mart that didnt accept visa. Finally found starbucks near gate. Gate was changed at the last moment. And yes, very limited to no WiFi. Security check is extremely awful.

Beijing T2 is diabolical for departures. Massive queues to get through first customs check, nothing to declare channel was closed initially. Ineffective check-in staff who initially refused to let us pay for extra baggage items, leading to massive chaos at check-in (Hainan Airlines). Passport control very slow. Followed by endless queue for yet another passport check by bored staff. Staff are plentiful but nothing seems to move. Security screening is a joke, there is room for just two cases on the belt at any time. Batteries need to come out, leading to yet more delays. Items have be put through the machine again and again without any explanation from staff. Body check takes nearly a minute. We arrived at the airport over three hours before our flight, and made it to the gate ten minutes before boarding, for a 1.20am flight. Not that there was much to enjoy, because there are hardly any facilities. Avoid T2 at all cost.

Nice airport. WiFi throughout the airport with your passport. Gates are easy to reach. lot of shops and restaurants. Very clean. Clearing the immigration was pretty fast.

Beijing Capital is an airport, best avoided for transit. I arrived there at 0545 am, the transit immigration check was closed until 0600 am, and as a lot of people were waiting, it took another 20 minutes until my boarding pass was checked (despite the very long queue, only one desk was open). Another 20 minutes again for security check, as transit passengers have to join the general queue for security checking, so not a good place if you have a short transit time !

Mixed feelings about this airport. Nice architecture and very bright but who's idea was it to put a glass roof above the airport express's station? No aircon so temperature rose to 35 degrees centigrade. Airport express into town is painfully slow by the way - especially when you used the Maglev in Shanghai- and guess what: no space in the train for any luggage bigger than a day backpack. Before departure we wanted to have late night dinner but that was virtually impossible since every decent restaurant - even Pizza Hut and Burger King - closed at 11 pm. With many flights still departing. The Chinese fastfood joint had a menu only in Chinese. No problem in China but not acceptable at the international airport in Beijing. Poor signage in terminal 3 didn't lead to the promised restaurant after security. Long walkways too by the way.

Arrived at 11.00pm and was at my hotel in Dongsishitao within the hour. Yes the distances are big but there was no queue for immigration, the train was waiting and the baggage was impressively quick. Customs waived me through and there was no taxi queue. For this an impressive 10/10. Then came departures. Check in was easy, signage fine, train quick and deceptively empty but then, it was not even possible to pass the immigration check because the queue for the next security check took up the entire space between immigration and security. There was no organization, queue jumping was rampant and this second passport check only seemed to duplicate the immigration check. Once into the terminal my plane departed from the extreme far gate which offered a quiet oasis from the rest of the terminal. For this 3/10.

Recently arrived and departed through Beijing Capital Airport Terminal 3, and it was not a good experience. To point out the only positive, I am sure everyone agrees the architecture and terminal structure is very modern and nice. Other than that there are no positives. I arrived from Hong Kong and waited over an hour in the immigration line. There were only three passport control agents for hundreds of passengers. While waiting in line there were Chinese Security guards yelling at passengers in Chinese, leaving Non-Chinese speaking passengers very confused. After you clear immigration you take a train to the main terminal. Going through baggage claim was a hassle and customs checks everyone's bags. I waited over 45 minutes in a taxi line. Then the fun started. On departures, do not use a mobile boarding pass. You have to scan your boarding pass in order to go on the the train. Then you arrive at the satellite terminal and wait in a long line to go through passport control. After they check your boarding pass and passport, you have to wait in another long line for another official to check your boarding pass and passport and to go through security. The space is really small and people were pushing. I was flying Business Class and had to beg the Security Official to let me use the fast track lane, while people were cutting it with no explanation. Once they check your boarding pass and passport again, they make you take out iPads. I went to the Air China Business Class Lounge, and needed to use Wifi (which you would expect they would have at the lounge) - they have a machine where you have to scan your passport and it gives you a number. The WiFi didn't even work, so it was a waste of time. IF you are going to the US they search for liquids right by the boarding gate and will take away your water (will make you depend on the rations by the flight attendants), even through they had several checkpoints before hand. All in all, this is a very disorganized and a passenger unfriendly airport. I will not be traveling back to Beijing anytime soon because going throughout this airport was extremely stressful.

Security lines are a mess, worst I've experienced of any significant hub worldwide. The security officer interrupts a well formed line to allow people to cut in, without explanations, and without remorse. The entry border controls are just as inefficient, with only 10-12 lines dedicated to foreigners. People can wait for hours getting through.

The worst airport! If you arrive at Terminal 2, it will be extremely hard to transfer to terminal 3. Unnecessary security checks again and again. You are not allowed to get Wifi at once, but you have to find a machine to scan your passport to get the slow Wifi's password.