At One Place

What airport is PKX?

PKX is
Beijing Daxing International Airport
Beijing, China

Why the code is PKX

PeKing plus X, deliberately echoing PEK.

This is the explanation in general circulation and it is very likely right, but no primary document has been published that settles it. Treated as an account rather than a fact.

The airport

IATA code
PKX
ICAO code
ZBAD
Airport
Beijing Daxing International Airport
City
Beijing, China
Opened
2019
Code origin
The usual account, unverified

Daxing's terminal, by Zaha Hadid Architects, is a single starfish-shaped building with six piers radiating from a central hub, designed so no gate is more than eight minutes' walk from the centre. It is among the largest single terminal buildings in the world.

The other code, ZBAD

Every airport has two codes. The three-letter IATA code, PKX, is the one on your boarding pass and your luggage tag, and it is assigned for commercial use. The four-letter ICAO code, ZBAD, is the one pilots and controllers use, and it is assigned geographically: the first letter or two identify the region, so every airport in the same part of the world shares a prefix. That is why ZBAD looks nothing like PKX.

Common questions

What airport is PKX?
Beijing Daxing International Airport, in Beijing, China.
Why is Beijing's airport called PKX?
PeKing plus X, deliberately echoing PEK.
What is the difference between PKX and ZBAD?
PKX is the IATA code, used commercially — tickets, timetables, luggage tags. ZBAD is the ICAO code, used operationally by pilots and air traffic control, and assigned geographically by region.

Related pages

Sources

  1. OurAirports — OurAirports (Public domain)

How these figures are compiled and checked