Part of the roof of Foster & Partners’ terminal three building at Beijing airport has been blown off by high winds.

It is the second time in a year the roof has been damaged.

Reports described 86km/h winds ripping off a metal panel and then scattering insulating material across the airport, taking 18 hours to clear up.

T3 was opened in time for the 2008 Olympics and was the biggest standalone terminal building in the world at the time.

A metal fatigue expert at Beihang University in Beijing said the airport roof needed to be tested by scientists.

“It shouldn’t be treated as an isolated accident,” Hu Weiping told the South China Morning Post. “Such mishaps must be stopped before someone gets hurt.”

A spokeswoman for Foster’s said: “We understand this is not due to a design fault.”