The long wait is over and the much anticipated opening of Baiyun Airport's massive second terminal is finally upon us. Terminal 2 (affectionately known as T2) opened its doors this morning and is already turning heads. Here's five things you should know about the city's newest transport hub.
1. It's China's biggest
With a total floor space of 880,700 square meters, T2 is able to handle an impressive volume of over 45 million passengers a year and, according to China Daily, is now the country's largest. This whole area includes the international and domestic departures and arrivals areas and their associated customs and security check facilities, together with 58 passenger boarding jetways.
Guangzhou won't hold the crown for long though – Beijing's new airport is slated to be the largest aviation hub on the planet when it open's next year.
2. It's easy to navigate
T2’s design was clearly conceived with convenience and efficiency in mind, with special care taken to avoid unnecessary maneuvers that could bog down travelers.
After departing passengers check their luggage, they can go straight to security without having to make any turns along the way, according to GD Today. Arrivals, meanwhile, can walk directly downstairs to get their luggage and leave from there. Transit passengers can stay on the same floor while they wait to transfer, without having to negotiate any stairs or escalators.
3. It takes self service to a whole new level
T2 will have 120 automatic check-in machines, 52 automatic check-in-with-baggage machines, and 50 immigration e-channels for the convenience of passengers. If you thought staffless liquor stores were cool, just imagine that kind of efficiency applied to the realm of civil aviation!
In about three minutes, passengers can walk up to an automatic check-in-with-baggage machine, scan their passport or boarding pass, wait for it to print the luggage label, slap that puppy on their luggage and have it sent to the security check.
For the e-channels at the border checkpoints, passengers can scan their passport, do a facial recognition check and pass through them in about 30 seconds.
4. It has its own metro station
As of today, Metro Line 3’s Airport North Station – the stop servicing the new terminal and newest addition to the city’s transport web – is open for business. Southbound trains will depart from Airport North Station to Tiyu Xilu every morning from 6am. The last train will leave the station each evening at 11.15pm.
5. It will be China’s biggest airline’s new home base
Xiamen Airlines, Garuda Indonesia, Kenya Airways and Saudi Arabian Airlines will be the first four airlines to operate in T2, according to Flight Dashboard, with another 12 airlines joining them in the near future, according to GD Today. China Southern Airlines – the nation’s largest carrier – will anchor the terminal, taking it as a new home base, alongside other domestic carriers including China Airlines, China Eastern Airlines, China United Airlines, Chongqing Airlines, Hebei Airlines, Shanghai Airlines and Sichuan Airlines. Foreign carriers operating in the terminal will include SkyTeam members Aeroflot, Air France, Korean Air and Vietnam Airlines.
[Images via GD Today, Yangcheng Evening News, Wikimedia]
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