The new terminal of the Beijing Capital International Airport will welcome the first batch of passengers from six airlines on February 29, the Beijing Daily reported.

In addition to Shandong Airlines, Sichuan Airlines, Qantas Airways, Qatar Airways, British Airways and El Al Israel Airlines, which will be the first to operate at Terminal 3 (T3), 21 more airlines will start their operations on March 26. They include Air China, Shanghai Airlines, Lufthansa, Cathay Pacific, Dragonair, and Emirates etc. The 27 companies will share 45 percent of the airport's passenger flows.

Occupying an area of close to 1 million square meters, T3 has three functional areas. T3C handles domestic and international boarding procedures, domestic departures and baggage claims for both domestic and international passengers; T3D will temporarily be devoted to charter flights for the Beijing Olympic and Paralympic Games; and T3E will be used for international arrivals and departures.

There will be four expressways linking the airport with the city. When completed, a rail line starting from the city's Dongzhimen will need a ride of just 16 minutes to go to T3, and that will come true before the Olympics scheduled to start on August 8, 2008.