SWISS has become the latest airline to announce a switch to Beijing's new Daxing Airport. A number of international airlines are currently switching across to Beijing's new airport following its opening last year.

Last year British Airways became the first international airline to land at Beijing's new Daxing Airport. A number of other airlines have since moved across to the airport including most recently LOT Polish Airlines. The new airport opened in the second half of 2019. Since then the number of carriers serving the airport, both domestic and international, has been slowly rising.

The SWISS switch

SWISS has become the latest airline to announce a switch to Beijing's new Daxing Airport. According to the airline, SWISS will begin to fly from Beijing Daxing in March of this year. This is backed up by the airline's booking engine. According to the booking engine, the first flight to Daxing will depart on Saturday 28th of March 2020. The flights will operate to the following schedule:

  • LX 198 will depart from Zurich (ZRH) at 16:35. Following a 9-hour and 45-minute flight, the Airbus A330-300 will arrive in Beijing (PKX) at 09:20.
  • The Airbus A330-300 will remain on the ground for 1-hour and 40-minutes.
  • LX 197 will depart from Beijing Daxing at 11:00. Following a 10-hour 35-minute flight, the Airbus A330-300 will arrive back to Zurich at 15:35.
SWISS, Beijing, Daxing Airport
Beijing Daxing is predicted to welcome 75 million passengers per year by 2025. Photo: SWISS

SWISS won't be the only carrier to make the switch on the 29th of March. Russian oneworld member S7 Airlines will also move to Daxing on the date. This will allow it to better co-locate with other alliance partners in Beijing.

What difference will Daxing make?

Daxing Airport will begin welcoming SWISS passengers from the 29th of March. While located slightly further away from the city center, passengers will still have an easy journey ahead of them. The airport is 60km away from the city center.

A taxi to the city center will take around an hour. However, at a fraction of the cost, the subway system takes 20 minutes. For those who aren't in a rush, there is also a bus which could take 1 and a half hours.

SWISS, Beijing, Daxing Airport
Amid substantial travel restrictions, China Southern's international capacity remains very low. Photo: Getty Images

About Daxing Airport

Daxing Airport opened its runways to the world on the 25th of September. The first flight from the airport saw China Southern's Airbus A380 departing from the airport. Then, on the 27th of October, the first International aircraft flew to the airport. This was a British Airways Boeing 777. Since then, more carriers have flocked to the airport.

Earlier this month LOT Polish Airlines launched a new service to Beijing Daxing. Rather than switching from Beijing Capital, however, LOT's new Daxing service complements the existing flight.

Would you rather fly to Beijing Daxing or Beijing Capital? Let us know your thoughts and reasons in the comments!