Beijing Capital International Airport Terminal Map

Beijing Capital International Airport lies to the north-east of the city, handles around 70.7 million passengers a year (2025) and sits about 25 km from the city centre. Its three terminals differ enormously in scale: Terminal 3 carries the overwhelming majority of the traffic, and it is one of the country's rare designs in which you still take a transit train inside the building — understanding T3's internal zones is what tells you how far you will actually have to walk.

The three terminals

T3's gates begin with C, D or E, matching three sections of the building:

• Zone C — the T3C main building, reachable on foot after check-in and security.
• Zone E — the T3E international concourse; after security or immigration you need the free transit train.
• Zone D — T3D, the concourse between the main building and Zone E.

Our diagram draws T3 as three parts — a main building plus a remote concourse — precisely to set it apart from the separate rectangular buildings of T1 and T2.

Transfers and connections

Most connections at Capital are made inside T3, but if your gate is in Zone E, add the transit train's waiting time to your buffer:

1. First confirm the gate prefix on your next flight (C / D / E).
2. A connection that stays within Zone C is the quickest; crossing to Zone E means adding the transit train in both directions.
3. Two flights in different terminals is the most complicated case: contact your airline in advance to confirm the transfer route, and allow more time rather than less.

Routes and flights

• Routes — in 2025 the airport served 217 cities in 58 countries, with 226 destinations in total (131 domestic, 95 international and regional); long-haul points include Tokyo, Seoul, Singapore, Bangkok, Dubai, London, Frankfurt, Moscow, New York, Los Angeles, San Francisco and Vancouver.
• Flights — 70.74 million passengers in 2025 (+5.0% year on year), with about 442,040 aircraft movements.
• Aircraft — main base is Air China and Star Alliance (T3), followed by the Hainan Airlines group (T1); the fleet is Boeing 737 and Airbus A320 family narrowbodies, with 747, 777, 787, A330 and A350 widebodies on long-haul.

Getting into the city

• Capital Airport Express (metro) — about 20 minutes direct to Dongzhimen, then a change to other lines; a stable choice unaffected by traffic.
• Airport buses — routes cover the main districts of the city, and the fare is lower than the metro, but they are exposed to traffic.
• Taxi — about 25 km and roughly 40 minutes without traffic, markedly longer at peak times.

Practical tips

• Beijing has two international airports: Capital (PEK) and Daxing (PKX) — always confirm which one before booking or arranging a pickup, as they are more than 50 km apart.
• T3 is enormous: from check-in to the furthest gate, walking plus the transit train can take more than 20 minutes, so arrive 3 hours ahead for an international flight.
• The first Capital Airport Express leaves at around 6am; for an earlier flight, take a taxi or an airport bus instead.