A third airport for Beijing was proposed in 2008 shortly after Terminal 3 is completed. By 2012, the existing Beijing Capital International Airport was running at near its full design capacity.

Initial proposals

Early media reports in September 2011 suggested that there could be up to nine runways at the new airport: eight runways for civil aviation plus one runway dedicated to military usage. It would replace Beijing Capital International Airport (which had 83 million passengers in 2013, second most in the world) as the main airport of Beijing, and be the largest in China. The airport was planned to be able to handle 120 to 200 million passengers a year, which, if capacity were fully used, would make it the world's busiest airport by passenger traffic, surpassing Hartsfield–Jackson Atlanta International Airport by far.

Approval for construction

Official approval for construction by National Development and Reform Commission on 22 December 2014. It called for an airport to be constructed in the southern part of Daxing District of Beijing, along the border of Beijing and Hebei Province. No design or plans were released due to ongoing negotiations. It was stated that it would consist of 7 runways, 6 for civilian use and 1 for military purposes. Construction has been completed as of September 2019 with a capacity of handling 75 million passengers as of 2025. The cost of construction was initially estimated to be at least 70 billion RMB (US$11.2 billion), including the 37 km (23 mi) Beijing–Xiong'an intercity railway (Beijing section), to Beijing West railway station.

Design and contractors

The airport's master plan was prepared by NACO (Netherlands Airport Consultants) and will feature a ground transportation hub providing the airport with public transportation links to high-speed rail, metro, expressways, Beijing Airport Bus routes, local buses and inter-airport transportation system. The terminal building was designed by British architects Zaha Hadid Architects, French planners ADPI and partners, and executed by the Beijing Institute of Architectural Design (BIAD). It consists of a central hub with six curved spokes. The façade was designed by XinShan Curtainwall and Beijing Institute of Architectural Design. Arup was subcontracted by Beijing Institute of Architectural Design as the fire engineering consultant, while China IPPR International Engineering was responsible for security system and baggage system designs. BuroHappold Engineering, as part of the consortium, worked with the architects to integrate engineering solutions into the design of the airport.

Hong Kong design studio Lead 8 was appointed as lead designer of the integrated service building (the sixth pier) in 2018. The terminal, according to Lead 8, will encompass "a purposeful design of work spaces, with integrated retail, dining, and entertainment options for the large number of passengers expected," with plans to incorporate interactive pet hotels, a childcare and nursery, hybrid online retail and dining, and a showroom for companies.

Other contractors involved in the project include China Electronics Engineering Design Institute, Civil Aviation Electronic Technology, The Third Rail Survey and Design Institute Group Corporation (TSDI China), Beijing City Construction Design Research General Institute and Beijing General Municipal Engineering Design & Research Institute.

Beijing TsingHua TonHeng Urban Planning and Design Institute, Central Academy of Fine Arts, Dtree, Lea-Elliot, Lighting Design Studio, and East Sign Design & Engineering were also involved in the project.

Suppliers include Xsight Systems, T-Systems, Schindler, Thales, Beijing EasySky Technology and Oasys.

Construction

Construction of the airport began on 26 December 2014, and was led by chief engineer Guo Yanchi. By March 2017, the terminal had its concrete structure capped. On 23 January 2019, the first flight inspection was carried out and was completed in March.

On 30 June 2019, the airport officially finished construction and was in preparation for its September opening. The construction of the airport itself cost CN¥120bn (approximately US$17bn), with other projects in the periphery costing CN¥330bn (US$46.2bn), giving a total cost of CN¥450bn (US$63bn).

Opening

The airport opened on 25 September 2019—just six days before the 70th anniversary of the People's Republic of China—in a ceremony attended by the Chinese president and General Secretary of the Communist Party Xi Jinping. Inaugural flights from seven Chinese airlines began later in the afternoon, although flights operating out of the airport on the day were member-only, with the first official flight out of the airport an Airbus A380 operated by China Southern Airlines. Flights for the public began the following day on 26 September 2019. The first commercial flight landed at Beijing Daxing at 10:12 (UTC+8), 26 September 2019.

Daxing Airport is the first airport in China to be built with two control towers and four runways.

The airport serves as the hub for China United Airlines immediately after its opening and all their services have been relocated to Beijing Daxing.