The existing Beijing airport is the 2nd most busiest airports in the world. It handles 100 million people each year, and the numbers are only going to grow. The Communists party in China plans to upgrade 74 airports by 2020 to handle 720 million passengers annually.
The new Beijing airport would open in September 2019, it stretches 97 soccer pitches wide. The airport aims to be the gateway for the east, targeting 100 million passengers, and 4 tons of cargo each year. The Airport is being constructed at a cost of US$ 11.5 billion, over 40,000 workers on site.
The 7 runway airport has the shape of a starfish, all connecting at a main hall. The security check and the boarding gates would be no longer than 600 meters , reducing walking and making it more compliant.
The airport is 50 km away from the city center, making it tough for people to break through the heavy traffic jams. To deal with traffic menace, a high-speed rail network from the city centre to the airport will be constructed. Thus reducing the travel time to 10 minutes.
There are fears that the mammoth airport would only stain and delay the fights even further. The Chinese military controls major of the airspace in China, the PLA has remained quite as the new airport would only loosen the grip of the military.