Air China begins long-haul flights from Beijing’s 2nd airport with routes to Frankfurt & Milan
March 15, 2026
Air China has announced its first two long-haul routes from the new Beijing Daxing Airport (PKX) launching later this year. The carrier will be adding daily flights to Frankfurt and Milan Malpensa. This is part of a new strategy that will see the carrier expand at both Beijing Airports. Its primary hub is Beijing’s older Capital International Airport (PEK) that is also currently used by its Star Alliance partners.
Both new routes to Europe will complement flights from PEK as well. It will maintain a daily link from PEK to Milan Malpensa, and will also fly 10x weekly to Frankfurt. It currently flies 17x weekly services from Frankfurt, but is shifting a daily service to PKX.
Air China’s European expansion from Beijing Daxing
According to schedules filed to aviation analytics firm Cirium, Air China is adding a daily Boeing 777-300ER flight from Daxing to Frankfurt. The route will begin on 28 April 2026. The services will depart China in the afternoon, landing in Frankfurt just before 18:00. The return journey will depart Germany a couple of hours later, landing in Daxing at around 11am in time for its morning connecting wave to a number of domestic destinations and Hong Kong.
The carrier’s new flight to Milan will operate daily on an Airbus A330-300 from 13 June 2026. It will complement the carrier’s existing daily link from Beijing Capital, which uses an Airbus A350. Flights will depart Beijing at 13:00 as well, landing in Milan at 18:00. The return journey will depart a couple of hours later at 20:00, landing back in China at 12:10. Connecting options are very similar to the Frankfurt flight.
Flights are not open for booking yet, and have only been added to schedules. Its existing European routes from Beijing Capital connect to its network across the wider East Asia region, with a clear focus on domestic connectivity as well.
Air China will also benefit from its Star Alliance membership for feeder traffic from Europe, including Lufthansa connectivity from Frankfurt.
Around 13% of flights from Milan Malpensa are operated by a Star Alliance carrier.
Why does China have two main airports and how are they used?
It was clear in 2012 that Beijing’s Capital International Airport was reaching its maximum capacity. Construction to build the new airport was approved in 2014 and the airport opened its doors in September 2019. It is reported to have cost the Chinese government US $17.47 billion. Currently, the airport features 4 runways for commercial flights (as well as one military-only runway) and 82 boarding gates.
Since then, several airlines have shifted their operations to the airport, primarily airlines in the SkyTeam alliance. this includes China Southern Airlines, China Eastern Airlines and XiamenAir.
Some oneworld airline members also moved, including British Airways which completely shifted its London-bound operation to Daxing in 2019. The carrier suspended the route in 2024, though. Royal Air Maroc, another member of the alliance, continues to operate to Daxing.
Members of Star Alliance have largely remained in Beijing Capital Airport. Air China has developed a domestic network from the new airport, but until now did not have any long-haul services.
Featured image: Markus Mainka / stock.adobe.com
