British Airways has announced that all direct flights to and from Heathrow and Beijing will move to new state-of-the-art Daxing airport from October 27th . 

The flag-carrier follows Finnair into the airport.

With a massive 52,000m2 available for retail, food and beverage and service, facilities at Beijing Daxing for British Airways’ customers will include over 300 shops and restaurants and for those eligible access to a brand-new partner lounge.

The new airport is approximately 50 kilometres from both Beijing city centre and the Xiong’an New Area and only 80 kilometres from Tianjin.

Transport connections to and from Beijing Daxing include four new highways, two new subway lines and a high-speed railway, which will carry customers to Beijing West Station in under 20 minutes.

A new terminal station is set to open in the Lize Business District in the next few years. 

Customers transferring to other flights will also benefit from its status as the only through check-in airport for foreign airlines in China.

Noella Ferns, British Airways executive vice president in Greater China and the Philippines, said: “We are very excited to be moving to Beijing Daxing.

“Not only will the new airport offer our customers flying to and from Beijing a world-class experience, with state-of-the-art facilities including an improved lounge for our Club World and First customers; but it will also support our ambition to increase leisure and business travel between China and the UK.”

Beijing Daxing, which is due to open in September, will initially house four runways and one terminal building.

In the future, it is set to include an additional three runways and a second terminal building, serving 100 million customers each year.

The move will also help British Airways to strengthen and develop its network through its codeshare agreement with China Southern Airlines, which will also be based at the new airport.