DUBAI: China’s Beijing Daxing International Airport (BDIA), designed by the late Iraqi-British architect Zaha Hadid, opened on Wednesday.
Hadid, who died in 2016, designed the $11 billion airport in the shape of a starfish. It is said to be the world’s largest single-building airport with a 700,000 square metres passenger terminal.
Zaha Hadid designed the $11 billion airport in the shape of a starfish. (AFP)
The airport has four runways and 268 parking bays that are said to accommodate 620,000 flights per year, China Daily reported. The long-term goal for the new airport is to handle up to 100 million passengers and four million tons of cargo each year.
China Southern Airline was the first flight to take off, at 4:23 p.m. local time.
China Southern Airline was the first flight to take off. (AFP)
The airport is located 46km south of the capital’s city center and is expected to serve 45 million passengers a year.
Seven domestic airlines are already operating from BDIA.
