Passengers queue at Terminal 3 of Beijing Capital International Airport. (Photo : www.commons.wikimedia.org)
Nearly 200 flights at Beijing Capital International Airport will be affected by the planned renovation of the airport’s oldest runway, as announced by the airport operator on its micro blog.
The China Daily reported that based on the statement, a complete renovation of the airport's central runway will be undertaken from May 23-28, a long time since its last overhaul in 1996.
According to the report, the operator urged airlines to make adjustments or reduce their flights to Beijing since the airport will use only two runways during the duration of the project.
The city's two airports are used for commercial aviation, the Beijing Capital and the Beijing Nanyuan International Airport, which airlines can use.
The report said that the week-long project will affect flights operated by 11 domestic airlines, which include China Southern Airlines and Air China.
According to the operator's statement, Tianjin Binhai International Airport and Shijiazhuang Zhengding International Airport will accommodate the flights that will be diverted. The company also said that they will ask air traffic control authorities to prioritize flights scheduled to use the airport during the project.
"The 3,000-meter central runway was put into use in 1958, when the airport began operating," said Zheng Jia'nan, a publicity officer at the Beijing airport.
"The previous comprehensive repair took place in 1996, so the past 19 years of heavy use have taken their toll, including some serious safety hazards for flights," the official added.
The report said that the renovation of the runway will result in a reduction of more than 200 flights per day. Passengers bound for Beijing can get a reimbursement of the cost of rail travel at the Tianjin airport.
For five consecutive years, Beijing capital is considered the second busiest airport in the world, according to Airports Council International. The airport served more than 86 million passengers on about 582,000 flights last year.
To address the problem of flight congestion, the city has announced plans to build a new international airport in Daxing District worth 79.98 billion yuan.
