Phoenix Shaped Mega-airport Begins in Beijing

Beijing's new $63 billion Daxing airport began its firstscheduled international flights on Sunday as it ramped up operations to helprelieve pressure on the city's existing Capital airport.

Shaped like a phoenix – through to some observers it is more reminiscent of a starfish – the airport was designed by famed Iraqi-born architect Zaha Hadid, and formally opened in late September ahead of the Oct. 1 celebrations of the 70th anniversary of the People's Republic of China. It boasts four runways and is expected to handle up to 72 million passengers a year by 2025, eventually reaching 100 million.

Reportedly, China Southern Airlines and China EasternAirlines will be the main domestic carriers at Daxing, though Air China willprovide a small number of flights too. An Air China flight to Bangkok was thefirst international flight to leave on Sunday, while British Airways willoperate the first transcontinental flight, to London.

About 50 foreign airlines, including Finnair, plan to move all or part of their China operations to the airport in the coming quarters. The relocation of all the airlines which will use Daxing is due to being completed by the winter of 2021. Air China and its Star Alliance partners will remain mostly at Capital airport.

Officials say Daxing airport is not only designed to serve Beijing, but also the surrounding province of Hebei and next-door city of Tianjin, to boost regional development.