Pilot shares reality of world's largest airport terminal after making 'bizarre' discovery

A commercial pilot was left stunned when he visited a massive £13.4bn airport terminal that’s shaped in an unusual way. Beijing Daxing International Airport was opened in 2019 to help alleviate the number of passengers using the city’s main airport.

The massive 2,679-hectare (6,620-acre) airport boasts four runways for commercial flights as well as one for military aircraft. It has become known as “the starfish” due to the unusual shape of the building.

When blogger Stefan Drury visited the airport, recognised as the biggest terminal in the world, he was immediately taken aback by the levels of security at the facility. In a video, he said: “I’ve been here once before and the security is, extreme to say the least.

“There’s security guards out in the taxi area, there’s a security check to actually get into the airport, not to get into the secure section, but to actually access the airport. It’s a highly protected and very secure environment, which is great for aviation.”

Once inside the massive terminal however, Stefan was left surprised by how few passengers he spotted milling about. The airport was designed to facilitate up to around 120 to 200 million passengers a year - which would make it the world’s busiest airport ahead of Hartsfield–Jackson Atlanta International Airport in Atlanta, Georgia.

After passing through the gates and into the huge shopping area, Stefan remarked: “Some of them [the shops] don’t seem very open and it also doesn’t seem very busy. I don’t know if that’s just the day that I’m here, or not as many people are still using this airport, whether people are still using Beijing’s other airport, Beijing Capital.

“This is actually a bit bizarre now to be honest, that there are so few people actually here. I know this is an airport that is being developed for the future and not every airline is operating out of here at the moment and Beijing Capital is obviously a bigger airport and more popular airport and because of its location a lot more people use it, but still for an airport that’s been open since 2019, it does seem to be very, very empty.”

Upon further exploration, Stefan was once again left in shock when he discovered a beautiful Chinese garden tucked away inside the airport terminal. He said: “This is a first, I don’t think I’ve ever seen something like this inside the security controlled area of an international airport before.

“What a very cool place just to come and chill out before a flight, get a little bit of peace and quiet and get out from the stuffy air-conditioning inside and come and hang with the fish. This is really nice, very peaceful, and there’s not many people here either.”

Overall Stefan was left impressed by China’s huge new airport. He said: “I have to say I’m wildly impressed by the design of this airport.

“We’re traditionally used to having those rectangular boxes, which are divided up into multiple terminals, so it’s nice to see a brand new airport like this one here in Beijing that is purpose built for the expansion that is expected to see down the line into the future.”