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How bad is Beijing Airport

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  1. #1

    Join Date
    Jul 2010
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    How bad is Beijing Airport

    How bad is Beijing Airport for Transit flights?

    I have HKG - PEK - CDG on 1st of April with 2 hours Connecting time. Will it be enough to get in the queue for 72 Hour Transit Visa (British Passport) and catch the next flight?

    Booked it because this was the CHEAPEST (obviously).


  2. #2

    Join Date
    Feb 2005
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    Doomed!!!!
    posted by bdw in another thread

    In Beijing, if you miss a connecting flight by 5 minutes because of flight delays and the transit security checks are so fucking slow, then need to stay overnight to wait for the next flight, there is a '72 hour transit' line you have to queue up for at the immigration, then they bus you to some shithole 10 minutes drive away, then they force you to share a room with a stranger if you want a free room due to their flight delays (otherwise need to pay for the room), then............ I could go on and on about how I am never going to transit through China ever again. But to answer your question, I think if you are in transit you can stay 72 hours. That what the bloody line I stood in for hours said anyway.
    shri and lovehunter like this.

  3. #3

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    May 2009
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    Why you need a visa for transit if you don't leave the airport? Don't you just have to go from one gate to the other?

    civil_servant and lovehunter like this.

  4. #4

    Transit visa is only needed if you want to leave the transit area.


  5. #5

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    transit within the airport was not bad at all, did it a couple of years ago, things might have changed.

    I am not sure you have to Q up with the 72 hours visa free transit people, it was a same day in transit chop.

    security checks are mind boggling, they found my tiger balm though....

    2 hrs is enough time

    lovehunter likes this.

  6. #6

    Join Date
    Oct 2007
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    The airport is perfectly fine and you need the transit visa only if you need to leave the transit area, which your connection should require. However, like any airport, it becomes horrible if you're forced to spend more time there than you planned...


  7. #7

    Join Date
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    Quote Originally Posted by er2:
    The airport is perfectly fine and you need the transit visa only if you need to leave the transit area, which your connection should require.
    Should or shouldn't? It's from one international gate to another international gate, so...?

  8. #8

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    Oct 2007
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    Duh too late to edit. Yes, was meant to be shouldn't. Thanks for pointing it out.


  9. #9

    Join Date
    Feb 2009
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    It's absolutely horrible and you are doomed. You do not need a transit visa if your arrival and departure flight are in the same terminal, but you do need to go through a couple of checkpoints that are very long and very slow. I missed my flight and then had to back out of the airport departure area back to the arrival area and then massive line for this stupid 72 hour visa so I could go outside to change my ticket to next flight which happened to be next day because I missed the last flight of the day. Then next day I nearly missed again even arriving 2 hours early because of massive and slow lines at immigration and security checkpoints. People pushing, the security checkpoint backed up all the way to the immigration checkpoint and just endless queues and frustrations.

    The best part was there was a busload of people stuck overnight in same situation as me and I made a couple of friends and we went out for dinner and drink together sharing stories of how we missed our flights. One guy from Canada to HK, a few from Japan to HK, another guy from Puerto Rico to HK.


  10. #10

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    Mar 2010
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    I never missed a flight, they let you go first if you show them your boarding ticket and they determine you are running late.

    lovehunter and jonastainine like this.

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