Beijing's new airport completes 1st passenger plane test flight

Crew members of Xiamen Airlines gesture at the cockpit before a test flight at Beijing Daxing International Airport in Beijing, capital of China, May 13, 2019. Beijing Daxing International Airport completed its first test flight of passenger planes as four aircraft landed safely on the runway Monday morning. China Southern Airlines, China Eastern Airlines, Air China and Xiamen Airlines sent their flagship models A380, A350-900, B747-8 and B787-9, respectively, for the test. (Xinhua/Cai Yang)

BEIJING, May 13 (Xinhua) -- Beijing Daxing International Airport completed its first test flight of passenger planes as four aircraft landed safely on the runway Monday morning.

China Southern Airlines, China Eastern Airlines, Air China and Xiamen Airlines sent their flagship models A380, A350-900, B747-8 and B787-9, respectively, for the test.

"The test shows that the new airport has now turned its focus from infrastructure construction to operation preparations," said Wan Xiangdong, chief pilot of Civil Aviation Administration of China.

The test followed the airport's first flight of verification planes on Jan. 22 this year. The airport is scheduled to take low-visibility flight test in August and go into operation before Sept. 30.

Located 46 km south of downtown Beijing, the new airport is aimed at taking pressure off the overcrowded Beijing Capital International Airport in the northeastern suburbs. It sits at the junction of Beijing's Daxing District and Langfang, a city of neighboring Hebei Province.

It is expected to handle 45 million passengers annually by 2021 and 72 million by 2025.