From Prague to Seoul with LOT this winter
516 €
Transfers and Terminal Layout at Beijing Capital Airport
Beijing Capital Airport has two terminals, designated as Terminal 2 and Terminal 3.
The original Terminal 1 was incorporated into Terminal 2 following refurbishment.
Terminals 2 and 3 are completely separate from one another, and the distance between them is approximately 3.5 km.
- Terminal 2– the original terminal at Beijing Airport, a compact and relatively small building with distances of up to 10 minutes’ walk.
- Terminal 3– the new terminal, opened in 2008, is one of the largest in the world. It comprises two satellite buildings, which can be reached from the main terminal via a free underground automated train (running 24/7 at 3–5-minute intervals).
Which terminal?
Both terminals handle domestic flights within China as well as international flights to other countries.
The terminals are organised by airline.
- Air Algerie – T2
- Air Astana – T2
- Air China – T3
- Air France – T2
- Air Koryo – T2
- Air Macau – T3
- All Nippon Airways – T3
- Asiana Airlines – T3
- Azerbaijan Airlines – T2
- Cathay Pacific – T3
- China Airlines – T3
- China Eastern Airlines – T2
- Delta – T2
- Egyptair – T3
- Emirates – T3
- Ethiopian Airlines – T3
- EVA Air – T3
- Grand China Air – T2
- Hainan Airlines – T2
- Hong Kong Airlines – T2
- Japan Airlines – T3
- Jeju Air – T2
- KLM – T2
- Korean Air – T2
- Kunming Airlines – T3
- Loong Air – T3
- LOT – T3
- Lucky Air – T2
- Lufthansa – T3
- Mahan Air – T2
- MIAT Mongolian – T3
- Pakistan International Airlines – T2
- Philippine Airlines – T3
- Shandong Airlines – T3
- Shenzhen Airlines – T3
- Sichuan Airlines – T2
- Singapore Airlines – T3
- SriLankan Airlines – T2
- Thai Airways – T3
- Tibet Airlines – T3
- Turkish Airlines – T3
- Turkmenistan Airlines – T2
- United – T3
- Uzbekistan Airways – T2
- Vietnam Airlines – T2
Transport between terminals
At present, you can only move between terminals via the public area.
An airport shuttle bus connects the two buildings.
- Frequency – every 10 minutes during the day, every 15 minutes at night
- Journey time – 20 minutes
- Price – free
- Operating hours – 24/7
- Stop at Terminal 2 – by Exit 7
- Stop at Terminal 3 – by Exit 5
Connecting flights
Transferring at Beijing Airport is straightforward and simple provided you do not need to change terminals.
The vast majority of guaranteed connections (i.e. where both flights are on the same booking) take place within a single terminal.
What security checks do I go through when transferring?
What are the exact procedures for each type of connection?
- International →international: security check
- International →domestic: immigration and security checks
- Domestic →international: immigration and security checks
- Domestic →domestic: no checks
Do I have to leave the transit area?
If your luggage is checked through to your final destination or you are travelling with hand luggage only, you do not need to leave the transit area.
Do I need to collect my luggage?
If both flights were booked as part of a single reservation and there are less than 24 hours between them, you do not need to collect your luggage.
Do I need a visa for China?
In the case of an international connection, you do not need to apply for a visa for China.
Visa-free entry for transit stays of up to 240 hours
Many airlines also offer long layovers lasting several days.
Beijing Capital Airport is included in the visa-free entry scheme for a maximum of 240 hours.
Upon arrival, before passing through immigration control, look for the special counter where these visa-free entries are processed.
Please note that if your transit time is less than 24 hours, the immigration officer may refuse to grant visa-free entry, in which case you will have to spend your time in the transit area.
For transfers lasting more than 24 hours, visa-free entry is always granted without any problems. However, you will need to present your flight ticket from China and your accommodation booking.
Free tour of Beijing
The travel agency Trip.com organises free tours of Beijing or the Great Wall of China for all international travellers.
As part of theBeijing Expressproject, two tours are scheduled daily:
- 7.30 am–1.00 pm: tour of the Great Wall of China
- 13:30–21:00: tour of central Beijing
Terms and conditions:
- Layover duration – over 8 hours
- Tour duration – 5.5 or 7.5 hours
- Tour start times – 7.30 am and 1.30 pm
- For more information and to book a tour online, visittrip.com/beijingexpress-halfdaylayovertour
You do not need to book the tour in advance; the meeting point is in the international arrivals hall of Terminal 3 at Beijing Capital Airport (PEK), near the “Manner Coffee” café.
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Any questions left?
If you have any questions or comments about the article...
10 comments
mary3
Translated from cestee.cz
Hello! :))) I greet you very much. I have a question. We are flying from Cambodia (Phnom Penh) to Prague via China - specifically Xiamen and Beijing. And we would like to inquire how to handle the processes at Chinese airports (what and how?). We are flying with hand luggage only. Thank you very much for your help 😊.
Petr Stepan
Translated from cestee.cz
Hello, we are travelling with Air China from Munich to Hanoi with a stopover in Beijing and Shanghai. Both connections about 4 hours. Do we really not need to fill out any forms in advance? Not even transit? The tickets are all with Air China. Thank you very much for the reply.
Peter
Kryštof Hájek
Translated from cestee.cz
Hello, you do not need to fill in any forms in advance.
But you will need to visit the visa-free transfer desk upon arrival, go through border control into China, and again through border control in Shanghai from the domestic to the international section.
Petr Stepan
Translated from cestee.cz
I understand and thank you very much.
Daniela _8
Translated from cestee.cz
Hello,
I found good tickets from Prague to Seoul with a change in Beijing. Arrival would be on T2 and departure from T3 with another airline. The transfer time is 5h 40min. We would buy the tickets separately with the respective companies. I suppose we would have to pick up the checked baggage and check it in again, so would the transfer time be sufficient? And if we don't end up with checked baggage, would it be possible to move to another terminal without having to leave the transit area?
Thank you
Marc Elias
Translated from cestee.fr
Hello,
I will have a stopover in Beijing on my way from Paris to Bangkok. The stopover will last 1h35. The airline for the whole flight is Air China. Is this enough?
Thank you for your feedback
Kryštof Hájek
Translated from cestee.cz
Hello, any time within one booking is sufficient as long as the airline sells it that way.
You can make the connection in 95 minutes, the biggest queue is at security, but even there I've never waited more than 30 minutes.
slezakova.radka
Translated from cestee.cz
Hey. Hey,
I just found out that on our way back from Bangkok, when we were supposed to fly via Beijing Beijing Capital Arpt, they cancelled our connecting flight and suggested we fly out in two days, so a 48 hour stopover in Beijing Capital. When I read the free Beijing tour, that would only be valid for us if we stayed at that airport the whole time, right? I don't know quite what to do, we would love the tour of course, but 2 days is plenty then. thanks
philippe.aais
Translated from cestee.fr
Hello everyone, I'm arriving from Munich to Beijing, capital T3, and I have a 1 hour 40 minute stopover to catch a domestic flight at the same terminal with the same airline. Isn't that too little time?
Kryštof Hájek
Translated from cestee.cz
Hi, if you have both flights purchased as one booking, then that's enough time. Plus you are guaranteed that even if you miss the domestic flight, the airline will arrange the next flight free of charge.
Gerhard Lauermann
Translated from cestee.de
what happens if i miss a connecting flight in peking . do i get a connecting flight for later?
J0x
Translated from cestee.cz
This is not an airport issue, it's an airline issue. The airline has to take care of the passenger. Some airlines will put a passenger on a partner airline's flight, but Air China will only put a passenger on its own flights.
Gerhard Lauermann
Translated from cestee.de
Thank you for the answer
Ana Perez
Translated from cestee.es
Hello, we are travelling from Spain to Baiyun with a stopover in Beijing, the stopover is 2 hours, we arrive at T3 and leave through T3, is it necessary to take the suitcases? or do they travel directly to the destination? And when we arrive at Beijing airport, do we have to go through customs and immigration? is there enough time? can you tell us what is the exact process in the stopover? as we are going with an elderly person and we have little time in the stopover. Thank you
J0x
Translated from cestee.cz
Everything is written at the top of the guide.
filip.kalous
Translated from cestee.cz
I had just changed from an international flight to a domestic flight on T2 with Hainan Airlines in Beijing and had to pick up and re-check my baggage.
A couple of flights back with Air China on T3 international to international, the luggage was automatically switched to the next flight.
Stavroula Anagnostopoulou
Hello, I am transiting through Beijing from Taipei to Istanbul. While my flight from Taipei lands in T3, my departure flight departs from T2. I understand there is a shuttle service between these two terminals, but could you kindly advise if I need to apply for the Free Visa since I will be exiting the terminal or there is another simplified process in place?
Hi, I am travelling from London to Macau via Bejinga Terminal3 both flights connecting on the same day in Bejinga I need to pick up my luggage and check in again, do I need a visa or is the 24-hour arrival card sufficient, how do I do it?
Thank you
Hi, it depends if you have both flights purchased as one booking.
If so, the luggage will be automatically transferred.
You can transit through China without a visa and without an arrival card: https://www.cestee.lt/tinklarast...s-kinijoje
Yes, both flights were bought as one with a transfer in the same terminal, but on the ticket it says to pick up the suitcases yourself and check in again at the same terminal 🙄T3
That hasn't happened to me in Beijing yet. Unless the flight was bought through a non-serious Kiwi-type seller that pretends to be one booking, but is actually 2 bookings.
However, even if you have to pick up your baggage, the above applies - i.e. visa-free transfer for 240 hours.
I understand, thank you, we bought through trip.com, but on the arrival card I marked 24 hours not 240 hours, is it something wrong, because we leave the airport the same day
You didn't have to fill out an arrival card at all, as far as I know.
Even if you have to pick up your luggage (i.e. enter China), you have to fill out a temporary entry card on the spot (at Beijing airport) (that's the 240 hours - the maximum visa-free transit time).
Thank you