Beijing Capital Airport

First trip to the new airport very clean lots of toilets and also charging stations for electronic devices. Because I arrived early in the morning (6am) and at night (11pm) most of the shops and bars had been closed only Starbucks was open. Not a lot of bars or cafes but a lot of shops. I can't understand why the shops and bars are closed when passengers still arrive or depart. I had two transfers flights no long queues at transfer counter customs and security control. All went very fluently. If you are arriving or depart in winter from this airport please wear warm clothes most parts of the airport are not heated very well also the gangways the to the plane are freezing cold. Overall a good airport.

Horrible experience a long walking time needed to reach gates and still have to waste time to take the train in the departure lounge to gate. Check in counter staff were extremely rude and condescending - they banged my passport on the table impatient as there was a long queue behind me. Took exactly 1.5 hrs just for check in and customs - way too long due to long queues and inefficient lousy staff. Duty free shopping in Terminal 3 was nonsense few shops and few benches for waiting. Also airport security is so poor for a capital international hub like Beijing airport! There was no security trying to stop these illegal sales people trying to sell you luggage straps in the terminal itself before checking in. Airport is practically lifeless after 10pm - shops close cafes shut down for the night - what kind of International airport is this?

First trip to China and I enjoyed novelty of everything including the airport. However I went in the summer so the cold described by others wasn't a problem. The shops were ok and airport staff were pleasant. I was surprised on the way back that after going through security etc. there was a female security officer on the actual tunnel leading a few yards away from the plane door. She searched purses etc. of people about to board. I said "Chinese security is very good!" and the stern faced young guard broke into a wide smile. Part of casual travel is just taking in the moment. I will be going back in January. Will be interested in comparing the experiences.

An airport to be avoided for transit. A completely unnecessary (and long) immigrations queue for all transit passengers then two security checks. We were among the first to arrive at the checkpoints at which all bags were thoroughly hand-searched. Long queues formed behind us. Our checked bags clearly marked Priority didn't make it to our connecting flight even though there was plenty of time - more security issues? Will choose a less paranoid airport for international transit in the future.

Nice looking airport but no air conditioning and no heat. I sat for 10 hours on layover in zero degree temperatures freezing "inside" this airport in a t-shirt/jeans while all my warm clothing was transferred through to Canada via my flight from Thailand. The people are rude the money changers charge a $10 service fee (changed $30 for lunch and I got only $20 back after fee) and overall the staff is not willing to help. I will do whatever I can to never travel through this airport again!

Good airport but they do not have enough elevators for passengers who need to transit from the arrival floor to departure floor. The train is very crowded the international flight arrival hall is too small and crowded. Overall it is not a good airport but not bad.

I landed at night through PEK T3 from PVG. Airport is clean and modern. It has a huge space but seems lifeless after 10pm. Not much to do at all. Some shops like Starbucks are outside the check-in hall. Airport staff are knowledgeable and willing to help.

I am working in Beijing but never liked Beijing Capital airport especially T3. It is a modern huge facility managed by fewer-than-necessary and inefficient staff. Many seemingly impressive facilities are simply unstaffed and unused. Long queuing is a must for check-in (even with E-ticket have to line up with paper-ticket passengers just to check luggage) no airline staff available to help you auto-check-in though more than half of the ticket- issuing machines are out of order or accept only Chinese national's ID not passports. Security check is time- consuming and what I hate most is the long walk from the departure lobby to the gate. Souvenir shops all sell same things and priced 3-5 times more expensive than in the city. T1 and T2 are much smaller and quicker to go through but the airlines using T1 and T2 are somewhat penalized for longer taxing time. Baggage handling is very slow (at least 30 minutes) and misleading (they put wrong flight number at a wrong counter I have encountered this problem at least 3 times). During Summer the airport often closes due to rain or other natural causes and their dealing with passengers is just horrible. We are left to wait without any sound update for more than 4 hours. I try to avoid using T3 or flying in China at all as much as possible.

I'd say the only plus is about terminal cleanliness - toilet is very clean compared to most attractions in Beijing. Talking about queuing time all pax had to pass through two security checks. The first one before check- in was fine but it took a VERY LONG time queuing for passing through Immigration and the second security check. PEK also lacks a wide variety of shops - all shops are duty-free or shops selling luxurious goods. But I was disappointed that my plane had to queue up for over 40 mins after taxi for taking-off!

I don't understand why as a transit passenger you still have to pass through immigration and customs. I can understand one security check before you board the plane but 3? That is just ridiculous and this adds to the stress level of catching your connecting flight to your final destination. And to top it all off they charge you $20 per head to transport you from one gate to the next. What a rip-off this airport is.