Beijing Capital Airport

A handsome airport spoiled by poor immigration and security procedures. We arrived late from Hong Kong en route to San Francisco. Once we found the transfer point for international flights there was quite a line. There were only two officials to process the passports for 30-50 people waiting in line. About 30 minutes. Next came security with another 40-60 minute wait in line and somewhere in the process there was a second line for checking passports. There was no provision for those with short connections. Had we not been in business class (with its own security area) we would not have made a connection with a 1 hour and 40 minute transfer. The airport is handsome and offers good facilities but the understaffed immigration and security procedures make we want to avoid a return trip through Beijing.

International transfer at T3 terminal in 4 April 2015: Positive impression: New spacious (once inside terminal past security check) good shopping and eating choices. Negative impression - mainly about security check: (1) the space reserved for security check queuing is simply too small for handling large amounts of passenger traffic thus creating chaos and confusion and long waiting time (2) do not understand why passengers with rolling carry- on luggage must be sorted and asked to take a separate line seemly adding more chaos (3) security personnel directing traffic only give orders in Chinese leaving non-Chinese passengers confused (4) many security personnel are impolite non-smiling and at times rude. Suggestions for improvement: First and foremost please increase (at least double) the space for security check queuing; Security personnel should be more helpful polite and warm.

Terminal 3. Transfer at PEK is time-consuming. It took me forever to queue and go through security. However it is not a big point. I purchased bottles of water after all the security checks and then was not allowed to take those bottles on board. Why? Bottles of water sealed or unsealed were asked to left behind. Yet later I saw some people with their "unsealed" (already opened and half full) bottles with them on the plane. Security checks at gate is a joke Beijing International Airport! I departed LAX SFO TPE and bought water bottles airside and were allowed to take them on board.

Do they know in Beijing what Priority luggage means? Obviously not. On the many occasions I arrive in Beijing my bag is always last on the belt. So who is to blame the airline or the airport. Complaining does not help.

A caution to Air China passengers travelling to the USA (and potentially other international destinations) that security staff in the boarding area will confiscate any liquids even though you will by then have been through 2 prior security checks. So after you drop US$6 on a bottle of Evian (since there are no other options) you will have it taken away from you. Worse the security staff blames the TSA who (falsely) insist that they are forced to do this. Bring good running shoes if you are transiting from domestic to international! If the positive reviews note that PEK is superior to most US airports that is a pretty low bar!

Transited through T3 on Air China from LHR to BKK. Modern and clean with good facilities and retail. Friendly staff. Most restaurants bars and cafes open 06.00 to 24.00 with a few including Duty Free shops open 24 hrs. All accept Visa or Mastercard even the local ones so there's no need for cash. Outbound arrived transfered and departed all within T3-E but warning: there is no smoking room in T3-E so on return I got the free 72 hr transit visa and headed to T3-C via the monorail. This was easy and probably didn't take any longer than just going through security in T3-E as the queues were much shorter. T3-C is the main check-in area with more choice of restaurants and retail and where you can go outside to smoke! I then just returned through security and caught the monorail back to T3-E for departure. T3-E was quite cold though as it was December so make sure you have some warm clothes!

I transited at this airport and my onward flight was the last flight departing Beijing at 00.10 with Air China to Singapore. The next departing flight was hours later. There were hardly any shops in operation except F&B outlets such as Pizza Hut. Since it is the last flight queues for security checks were short. Toilets were located quite far and I have to walk quite a distance. There is Wi-Fi service but to connect to it I need to go to the customer service counter to collect a slip containing a code to use the Wi-Fi service - very troublesome as I hardly have to do this at other major airports.

If you fly a Skyteam airline through PEK you are out of luck in that you won't get to experience Beijing's world- class Terminal 3. Instead you must transit through dusty tired old Terminal 2 with very limited food and shopping choices. Lounge areas for premium passengers are equally drab with old furniture and lacklustre food. The good part is that T2 is uncrowded most of the time since most all other airlines except Skyteam have moved to T3. Hence there are almost no lines for check-in security and customs and baggage claim is speedy. Departing international flights out of T2 will often get to enjoy a virtually deserted concourse with the fellow passengers on your flight the only others in the building.

I thought Beijing airport was excellent. I speak very little Mandarin but had no problem arriving and departing the airport. Everything is in English. Had some questions and they were answered them very well. the only concern would be the Wifi. I could not get it to work. Line up for arriving was quite long at immigration but they had all wickets open and did move the passengers through quickly. Very quick departing. Thus no concerns. I thought Beijing was much better than most North American airports especially American airports customs can be very slow.

An excellent airport with excellent services. Beautiful T3. Security is good and the queues are not too long. The air is fresh and toilets clean. Immigration had more than 10 counters in use. The first/business class lounges are clean and quiet. The airport free WiFi is fast - you need to verify using you phone number.