Beijing Capital Airport

✅ Trip Verified | A big, modern airport. Inspection for transit passengers is slow and intrusive, involving two passport checks, taking a photo, baggage screening (often with staff removing items from carry on), passing through x-ray, plus physical frisking. I felt that I was being treated like a suspected terrorist. Few good dining options, and those that exist are expensive with so-so food. Several chain coffee outlets that are expensive. Many expensive duty free shops and a few high-priced shops selling local goods. As opposed to an airport like TPE or HKG, few interesting amenities for those waiting for a flight, although it's a great airport for walking. Free Wifi but it only seems to work if you have a Chinese phone number.

Not Verified | Poor signage as to how to proceed once leaving the gate of incoming flight. Only 'transit' sign does not indicate it is for passengers with ongoing boarding passes only. So stand in queue for 10 minutes only to be told need to go to another lot of queues. No signs inside airport how to get from one terminal to another, no one to help. Took a total of 90 minutes to get from one flight to another including 3 lots of security checks and 2 immigration checks. Missed connecting flight. Have contacted airport since who don't acknowledge problem or how they will improve.

✅ Trip Verified | We visited Beijing twice as a transfer hub twice during our trip. Both of the times were absolutely horrible. Terminal 3 was just a horrible mess when it comes to navigating to your gate. Also every other place was being renovated, so it looked more like a construction site than an actual airport terminal. Security for us was not too bad. General rudeness was in the air with the staff there. Also on the way back I got to witness a family being treated like trash due to the fact they didn't have common language. Shopping was pretty ok in general. On our way back we went to get something to eat and had to ask the food on the go, since our order took for ages. We noticed that people who came after us and ordered more food than us got theirs way before us. I suspect, that they had our food ready, just forgot to bring it. Once we got to the gate and prepared to chow down quickly, we noticed that the order was completely wrong. In the end we tossed more than 3/4 in the bin. Also, I wont let this be any factor in my review, but the airport is completely non-smoking. So for all you smokers out there, prepare for the fact that you cant have a smoke between flights here.

✅ Trip Verified | I experinced transit at PEK twice : with and without mobility assistance (I had an accident in between both transits). What a mess to transit there. Expect 1-2 hrs queuing to get through useless passport and hand luggage control (this is transit) There is a transit lounge (booked online) but nobody knows what about. I could not explore and find it by myself. English is limited, more so than in Vietnam for instance. Travel with mobility assistance (was in crutches, can't go far with them). I have been correctly picked by wheelchair staff at plane exit. Same queuing though (I'm not asking for privilege just note the waste of time for wheelchair staff). I've been sitting near a wheelchair station with plenty of space. Woke up 2 hrs later nobody, all wheelchairs locked and toilets / drinking water as far as it could possibly be. How I'm supposed to do? A bit later some staff unlocked them to move them out. I "stole" one and moved by myself across the airport to reach my gate.

Not Verified | The airport's T1 and T2 terminals are old, small, and disgusting. The floor is very dirty and the walls are boring grey, white and blue; the wifi is bad; the seats seem to be old-fashioned and dirty; there are a limited number of shops, which look 80s, and cleaning crews are almost nonexistent. T3 of Capital Airport is good and modern, but you'd never want to depart in these two terminals.

Not Verified | I had a good and bad experience. Signage not poor but not good either. Initial immigration okay but do my fingerprints need to be scanned twice? Connecting gate information was very hard to find. I ended up asking the help desk. Security check fine. Okay. When I left Newark the said my bag was checked through to Shenzhen, so I didn't pickup my bag in BJ. And most airports you are directed where you have to pickup your bag and signage is crystal clear. Here signage was weak and if I wanted my bag I had to go out into normal baggage claim and outside security. So on arrival it didn't occur to me (like any other int'l arrival you always get your bag) to get my bag. So I continue to gate. It kept eating at me that this wasn't right. So I went to the help desk (right before boarding) and confirmed I needed my bag, told me exactly what to do. She contacted airlline on the spot and let them know. On way to bag claim (knowing my bag would not be on carousel), grabbed young man and he got me to baggage office quickly, also contacted airline to hold flight. After 10 minutes found my bag off in some hallway somewhere and he got me on track. Signage is so - so, but these 2 people were absolutely fantastic and while I was last person on-board - I made it.

Not Verified | Miserable. Landed at 1 pm in Beijing, immediately after arriving we were rushed through the walkway by the staff, walk to immigration was a bit long but alright. The issue was the customs staff, very unprofessional and unfriendly. After checking through customs you had to take a very slow train to the other side of the terminal, very slow and not frequent. Bathrooms were filled with cigarette smells. Not a good airport to land at despite it being built recently. Would not recommend.

❌ Not Verified | Transiting here is not pleasant at all. You would expect to get to the international transit sector, get a security check and then go to your gate. Well, yes, but first they have to check your boarding pass and put a stamp on it, then you are allowed to go to the next desk where they don't tell you anything (maybe it is also the lack of English knowledge everywhere on this airport), just take your boarding pass and get another stamp on it, plus they get your photo. When you think you are done and go through security, you have to wait because there is only one scanner and to many people transiting, so you wait again. At security, your bag just gets emptied by the security officer, without any pre-notification and they carefully check not only the liquids, but the power banks you are using for your mobile phone, since some of them with to big capacity are being confiscated. I was lucky, but in front of me, a guy wasn't because his was "too big". After that you can finally go to the terminal area where you should get a WiFi code from registering at the information office. The duty free shops are plenty, offering mostly the same thing: alcohol and cigarettes which are cheaper than anywhere else. Not the Cuban cigars, though. The restaurants offer decent food, way better than Europe i might say at reasonable prices. The terminal building is huge and modern but makes travelling between gates difficult. Seating areas are very good and one can catch a sleep on them, very comfy.

❌ Not Verified | I haven’t been to every airport in the world, but I’m pretty sure this one is the worst! The service people are extremely rude, the officer lady at the transit booth literally threw my passport back at my face, all scrunched up! Customs and security are deliberately slow. One lady took the time to rearrange lighters on her desk before letting me in. That is just insulting! Please train your staff, I feel wronged. Even the barista at the Costa coffee was rude, she couldn’t warm up the muffins I bought from her. What a service! I am coming back on my way back, and am already dreading the experience!

✅ Trip Verified | The worst airport I’ve ever been at. We had hotel reservations due to a 21 hour layover. Arrived in Beijing at 1:25 AM. Almost everything was closed. We went thru immigration and security numerous times. The workers kept screaming at us “no out“. meaning we couldn’t leave the airport. We told them we wanted to use the 72 hour entry. Again no out. Finally someone who spoke a little English. We showed him the 72 hour entry online. He said only if our flight is more than 24 hours away. He kept telling security they dont have to be rude. We went thru security over and over again. Each time they grabbed items out of your bags and threw them into bins saying no lighters, no chargers. We never got to our hotel. We spent 21 hours walking around the airport. Nobody told us there was a hotel in the airport. We found it ourself after 14 hours. My friend and I got separated. She asked someone to page me. One sent me to another place. All employees go out of their way not to help you.