A | B | C | D | E | F | G | H | CH | I | J | K | L | M | N | O | P | Q | R | S | T | U | V | W | X | Y | Z | 0 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9
Hong Kong International Airport 香港國際機場 | |||||||||||||||||||
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 Aerial view of Hong Kong International Airport in 2010. | |||||||||||||||||||
| Summary | |||||||||||||||||||
| Airport type | Public | ||||||||||||||||||
| Owner/Operator | Airport Authority Hong Kong (AAHK) | ||||||||||||||||||
| Serves | Pearl River Delta | ||||||||||||||||||
| Location | Chek Lap Kok, New Territories, Hong Kong | ||||||||||||||||||
| Opened | 6 July 1998 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Hub for | |||||||||||||||||||
| Focus city for | |||||||||||||||||||
| Time zone | Hong Kong Time (+08:00) | ||||||||||||||||||
| Elevation AMSL | 8.5 m / 27 ft | ||||||||||||||||||
| Coordinates | 22°18′32″N 113°54′52″E / 22.30889°N 113.91444°E | ||||||||||||||||||
| Website | www | ||||||||||||||||||
| Maps | |||||||||||||||||||
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| Runways | |||||||||||||||||||
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| Statistics (2023) | |||||||||||||||||||
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Source: Hong Kong International Airport[3] | |||||||||||||||||||
| Hong Kong International Airport | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Traditional Chinese | 香港國際機場 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Simplified Chinese | 香港国际机场 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Jyutping | hoeng1 gong2 gwok3 zai3 gei1 coeng4 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Cantonese Yale | Hēunggóng Gwokjai Gēichèuhng | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Chek Lap Kok International Airport | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Traditional Chinese | 赤鱲角國際機場 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Simplified Chinese | 赤𫚭角国际机场 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Jyutping | cek3 laap6 gok3 gwok3 zai3 gei1 coeng4 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Cantonese Yale | Cheklaahpgok Gwokjai Gēichèuhng | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Hong Kong International Airport (IATA: HKG, ICAO: VHHH) is an international airport located on the island of Chek Lap Kok in western Hong Kong. The airport is also referred to as Chek Lap Kok International Airport or Chek Lap Kok Airport, to distinguish it from its predecessor, the former Kai Tak Airport.
Opened in 1998, Hong Kong International Airport is the world's busiest cargo gateway and one of the world's busiest passenger airports.[4] It is also home to one of the world's largest passenger terminal buildings, which was the largest when the airport opened.
The airport is operated by Airport Authority Hong Kong (AAHK), a statutory body of the Hong Kong government established on 1 December 1995.[5] It runs 24 hours a day and is the primary hub for Cathay Pacific, Greater Bay Airlines, Hong Kong Airlines, HK Express and Air Hong Kong (cargo carrier). The airport is one of the hubs of Oneworld, and is also one of the Asia-Pacific cargo hubs for UPS Airlines.[6] It is a focus city for China Airlines and China Eastern Airlines. Ethiopian Airlines utilizes Hong Kong as a stopover point for their flights.[citation needed]
HKIA, which employs approximately 65,000 people, is an important contributor to Hong Kong's economy. The economic contribution generated by Hong Kong’s aviation industry in 2008 amounted to HK$78 billion in value added, 4.6% of Hong Kong’s GDP.[citation needed] More than 100 airlines operate flights from the airport to over 180 cities across the globe. In 2015, HKIA handled 68.5 million passengers,[4] making it the 8th busiest airport worldwide by passenger traffic and the 4th busiest airport worldwide by international passenger traffic.[7] Since 2010, it has also surpassed Memphis International Airport to become the world's busiest airport by cargo traffic (except in 2020 due to disruptions related to the COVID-19 pandemic).[8]
History
Chek Lap Kok Airport was designed as a replacement for the former Hong Kong International Airport (commonly known as Kai Tak Airport) built in 1925. Located in the densely built-up Kowloon City District with a single runway extending into Kowloon Bay, Hong Kong airport had turned on the runway lights for expansion to cope with steadily increasing air traffic. By the 1990s, Kai Tak had become one of the world's busiest airports – it far exceeded its annual passenger and cargo design capacities, and one out of every three flights experienced delays, largely due to lack of space for aircraft, gates, and a second runway.[9] In addition, noise mitigation measures restricted nighttime flights, as severe noise pollution (exceeding 105 dB(A) in Kowloon City) adversely affected an estimated 340,000 people at least.[10][11]
A 1974 planning study by the Civil Aviation and Public Works departments identified the small island of Chek Lap Kok, off Lantau Island, as a possible future airport replacement site. Far away from the congested city centre, flight paths would be routed over the South China Sea rather than populous urban areas, enabling efficient round-the-clock operation of multiple runways. The Chek Lap Kok (CLK) airport master plan and civil engineering studies were completed towards the end of 1982 and 1983, respectively. In February 1983, however, the government shelved the project for financial and economic reasons. In 1988, the Port & Airport Development Strategy (PADS) Study was undertaken by consultants, headed by Mott MacDonald Hong Kong Limited, reporting in December 1989. This study looked at forecasts for both airport and port traffic to the year 2011 and came up with three recommended strategies for overall strategic development in Hong Kong. One of the three assumed maintaining the existing airport at Kai Tak; a second assumed a possible airport in the Western Harbour between Lantau Island and Hong Kong Island, and the third assumed a new airport at Chek Lap Kok. The consultants produced detailed analyses for each scenario, enabling the government to consider these appraisals for each of the three "Recommended Strategies". In October 1989, the Governor of Hong Kong announced to the Legislative Council that a decision had been made on the long-term port and airport development strategy for the territory. The strategy to be adopted was that which included a replacement airport at Chek Lap Kok and incorporating new container terminals 8 and 9 at Stonecutters Island and east of the island of Tsing Yi, respectively.[12]
In the PADS study, the consultants advised that the earliest the airport could be opened was January 1998.[13] However, in reaching the government's decision, this date was modified to January 1997, six months prior to the handover of Hong Kong to China. Construction of the new airport began in 1991.[14] As construction progressed, an agreement was reached with China that as much as possible of the airport would be completed before the handover to China in July 1997. British Prime Minister John Major opened the Tsing Ma Bridge, the main access to Lantau Island and the airport and its supporting community in May 1997, prior to the transfer of sovereignty to China. The airport itself was opened in July 1998.
The construction period was very rushed; specialists considered that only a 10–20-year period was sufficient for this massive project. [citation needed] Another cause for this rush was due to the uncertain future of the airport construction after the transfer of sovereignty over Hong Kong to the People's Republic of China. Shortly after the then-British colonial government of Hong Kong announced plans to construct the new airport, the Chinese government in Beijing began voicing objections to various aspects of the massive project, which prompted financial institutions to delay extending project finance. Without access to this financing, many of the companies who had secured contracts to build various portions of the project halted construction, resulting in delays that pushed the actual opening of the airport, originally planned to take place before the transition in sovereignty until one year after. As agreements were reached with the government in China, Beijing withdrew most of its objections and work then continued, albeit behind schedule.[citation needed]
Hong Kong International Airport was built on a large artificial island formed by flattening and levelling the former Chek Lap Kok and Lam Chau islands (3.02 square kilometres (1.17 sq mi) and 0.08 km2 (0.031 sq mi) respectively) and reclaiming 9.38 km2 (3.62 sq mi) of the adjacent seabed. The 12.48-square-kilometre (4.82 sq mi) airport site, with its reclamation, added nearly 1% to Hong Kong's total surface area, connecting to the north side of Lantau Island near Tung Chung new town.[15]
Construction of the new airport was only part of the Airport Core Programme, which also involved the construction of new roads and rail links to the airport, with associated bridges and tunnels, and major land reclamation projects on both Hong Kong Island and in Kowloon. The project holds the record for the most expensive airport project ever, according to Guinness World Records. Construction of the new airport was also voted as one of the Top 10 Construction Achievements of the 20th Century at the ConExpo conference in 1999.[16]
The detailed design for the airport terminal was awarded to a consortium led by Mott Connell (the Hong Kong office of UK consultant Mott MacDonald) with British Airports Authority as specialist designers for airport related aspects, Foster and Partners as architects and Ove Arup as specialist structural designers for the roof. Mott Connell were the designers for foundations, all other structural components and the mechanical and electrical work. The sides of the terminals, predominantly glass, were designed to break during high-speed winds, relieving pressure and allowing the terminal to withstand an intense typhoon.[17]
The airport was officially opened in an opening ceremony by the President of the People's Republic of China and General Secretary of the Communist Party Jiang Zemin at noon Hong Kong Time on 2 July 1998. Hours later, Air Force One, carrying the President of the United States Bill Clinton, landed at the new airport and became the first foreign visitor to arrive at the new airport.[18] The actual operation of the airport commenced on 6 July 1998, concluding the six-year construction that cost US$20 billion. On that day at 06:25 Hong Kong Time, Cathay Pacific Flight CX 889 from New York JFK Airport became the first commercial flight to land at the airport, pipping the original CX 292 from Rome which was the scheduled first arrival.[19] However, the airport had already started to experience some technical difficulties on the first day of opening. The flight information display system (FIDS) had suddenly shut down which caused long delays. Shortly afterwards, the cargo-communication link with Kai Tak, where all the necessary data was stored (some still stored there then), went down. During the same period of time, someone had accidentally deleted an important database for cargo services. This meant that cargo had to be manually stored. At one point, the airport had to turn away all air cargo and freight headed for and exported from Hong Kong (except food and medical supplies) while it sorted out the huge mess. HKIA simply could not keep up without an automated assistant-computer system.[17] For three to five months after its opening, it suffered various severe organisational, mechanical and technical problems that almost crippled the airport and its operations. Computer glitches were mostly to blame for the major crisis. Lau Kong-wah, a Hong Kong politician, was quoted saying "This was meant to be a first-class project, but it has turned into a ninth-class airport and a disgrace. Our airport has become the laughing stock of the world."[20][21] At one time, the government reopened the cargo terminal at Kai Tak Airport to handle freight traffic because of a breakdown at the new cargo terminal, named Super Terminal One (ST1).[22] However, after six months the airport started to operate normally.
On 31 July 2000, Todd Salimuchai, a regularised illegal immigrant in Hong Kong with no provable nationality, forced his way through a security checkpoint using a fake pistol, took a woman hostage, and boarded a Cathay Pacific aircraft. He demanded to be flown to Burma, which he claimed was his native country but had refused to admit him due to his lack of documents. He surrendered to police two and a half hours later.[23]
Officially opened in June 2007, the second airport terminal, called T2, (check-in facility only) is linked with the MTR Airport Express on a new platform. The terminal also features a new shopping mall, SkyPlaza, providing a large variety of shops and restaurants, together with a few entertainment facilities. T2 also houses a 36-bay coach-station for buses to and from mainland China and 56 airline check-in counters, as well as customs and immigration facilities.
Besides T2, the SkyCity Nine Eagles Golf Course has been opened in 2007 whereas the second airport hotel, the Hong Kong SkyCity Marriott Hotel; and a permanent cross-boundary ferry terminal, the Skypier, began operations in 2008 and 2009 respectively. Development around T2 also includes the AsiaWorld-Expo which has started operation in late 2005.[24] A second passenger concourse, the North Satellite Concourse (NSC), opened in 2010, followed by the Midfield Concourse in December 2015.[25]
During August 2019, the airport was shut down multiple times as demonstrations were held inside the airport during the 2019–20 Hong Kong protests, over 160 flights were cancelled as both the arrivals and departures sections of the airport were occupied.[26]
The third runway, known as the North Runway, opened in 2021, was the first part of the Hong Kong International Airport Master Plan 2030 to open. The Center runway was then closed to facilitate construction works and upgrades.
Composition
Hong Kong International Airport covers an area of 3,101 acres or 1,255 hectares (4.85 sq mi).[27] The airport has a total of 89 boarding gates, with 77 jet bridge gates (1–22, 23–36, 40–50, 60–71, 201–219) and 12 virtual gates (228–230, 511–513, 520–524) which are used as assembly points for passengers, who are then ferried to the aircraft by apron buses.[28] Of the 77 jet bridges, five (Gates 5, 23, 60, 62, 64) are capable of handling the Airbus A380, the current users of which are Asiana Airlines, British Airways, Emirates, Qantas and Singapore Airlines. Korean Air and China Southern Airlines previously operated a route to HKIA from Seoul and Beijing respectively using the Airbus A380, but these airlines decided to not use them due to unprofitable nature of the aircraft type. Air France, Lufthansa and Thai Airways International previously operated services to Hong Kong from Paris, Frankfurt and Bangkok using the Airbus A380, though they retired the aircraft types early due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
In addition to Chek Lap Kok, the airport occupies what was Lam Chau.[29]
Terminal 1
Terminal 1 of the HKIA, with an area measuring 570,000 square metres (6,100,000 sq ft),[needs update] is one of the largest passenger airport terminal buildings in the world, after the likes of Dubai International Airport Terminal 3 and Beijing Capital International Airport Terminal 3.[30]
Opened on 6 July 1998, Terminal 1 was the largest airport passenger terminal building, with a total gross floor area of 531,000 square metres (5,720,000 sq ft). It briefly conceded the status to Bangkok's Suvarnabhumi Airport (563,000 m2 (6,060,000 sq ft)) when the latter opened on 15 September 2006, but reclaimed the title when the East Hall was expanded, bringing the total area to its current size of 570,000 square metres (6,100,000 sq ft). Terminal 1's title as the world's largest was surrendered to Beijing Capital International Airport Terminal 3 on 29 February 2008.
In late 2021, the air side of Terminal 1 started segregating Mainland Chinese flights and other international flights into two separate zones, "Green zone" and "Orange zone", for the purpose of reducing the risk of cross infection of novel coronavirus between travellers and airport workers serving different destinations.[31]
On 1 November 2022, the Sky Bridge opened as part of a wider HK$9 billion airport upgrade, connecting Terminal 1 to the T1 Satellite Concourse (T1S). Lined with glass floor panels at the edges, the 200 metre long and 28 metre high bridge, the largest of its kind, is high enough for an Airbus A380 to pass underneath.[32]
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View of the departure and arrival halls (2013) -
Terminal exterior (2018) -
Arrivals hall (2023) -
Terminal 1 south concourse gates (2020) -
Cathay Pacific check-in counters (2018)
.jpg)
T1 Satellite Concourse
In 2007, HKIA began the construction of a two-storey T1 Satellite Concourse (T1S), previously known as the North Satellite Concourse (NSC), which opened in December 2009.[33][better source needed] This concourse was designed for narrow-body aircraft and is equipped with 10 jet bridges. The concourse has a floor area of 20,000 square metres (220,000 sq ft) and will be[when?] able to serve more than five million passengers annually. T1S was built so the airport could accommodate at least 90 percent of its passengers by aerobridges. It has two levels (one for departures and one for arrivals). A new Sky Bridge connecting Terminal 1 and T1S opened in November 2022, allowing passengers to walk above taxiing planes, saving time from taking the airport shuttle bus.[34][35][better source needed][36]
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Interior view of the satellite concourse (2013) -
Interior of the concourse with an internet kiosk and coffee shop behind (2013) -
SkyBridge connecting Terminal 1 with the satellite concourse (2021)
T1 Midfield Concourse
On 25 January 2011, Airport Authority Hong Kong (AA) unveiled phase 1 of its midfield development project which was targeted for completion by the end of 2015. The midfield area is located to the west of Terminal 1 between the two existing runways. It was the then last piece of land on the airport island available for large-scale development. This includes 20 aircraft parking stands, three of these are wide enough to serve the Airbus A380 and cater for an additional 10 million passengers annually. Passengers reach the concourse through an extension of the underground automated people mover.[37] A joint venture of Mott MacDonald and Arup led the design of the project.[38] Gammon Construction undertook the construction work.[39] The Concourse began operations on 28 December 2015, and the first flight that used it was the HX658 operated by the Hong Kong Airlines flying from Hong Kong to Okinawa. On 31 March 2016, the Concourse was officially inaugurated in a ceremony marking its full commissioning.[40]
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Aerial view of the Midfield Concourse -
Interior view of the Midfield Concourse -
Interior view of sitting area -
Interior view of Automated People Mover Platform
Former Terminal 2
Former Terminal 2 with an area measuring 140,000 m2 (1,500,000 sq ft), together with the SkyPlaza, opened on 28 February 2007 along with the opening of the Airport station's Platform 3.[41] It was only a low-cost carrier check-in and processing facility for departing passengers with no gates or arrival facilities (passengers were transported underground to gates at Terminal 1). The SkyPlaza was situated within. Former Terminal 2 was shut down in 28 November 2019 at 23:00 to make way for a new satellite terminal from the three-runway system.[42]
Other buildings
 | This section needs expansion. You can help by adding to it. (May 2022) |
Cathay Pacific City, the head office of Cathay Pacific and Air Hong Kong, is located on the airport island.[43] CNAC House, the office for Air China is also located in the airport complex, together with the Civil Aviation Department headquarters.[44] HAECO also has its head office on the airport property.[45] HK Express has its head office on the airport property,[46] in what was previously the Dragonair House, head office of Cathay Dragon.[47]
The Government Flying Service (GFS) has its head office building in the airport.[48] Additionally the head office of the Air Accident Investigation Authority (AAIA) is in the Facility Building on the airport property.[49]
Airport expansion projects
In June 2010, the Airport Authority unveiled plans to develop in stages the vast midfield site of the airport island. Stage 1 will involve the construction of a new 20-gate passenger concourse to be built in 2 phases (completion 2015 and 2020) with 11 gates in phase 1 growing to 20 gates in phase 2. The configuration of the new concourse is similar to those at Atlanta, Bangkok–Suvarnabhumi, Berlin (Terminal 1), Chicago–O'Hare (Global Terminal), Denver, Detroit (McNamara Terminal), London–Heathrow (Terminals 2 and 5), Los Angeles (TBIT), Munich (Terminal 2), Salt Lake City, Seoul–Incheon, Washington–Dulles and Felipe Ángeles International Airport (Zumpango). After stage 1 of midfield development is completed in 2020,[needs update] there will be sufficient lands remaining for further new concourses to be built as and when demand for them materialises.[50]
Master Plan 2030
One year after, on 2 June 2011, the Airport Authority announced and released their latest version of a 20-year blueprint for the airport's development, the Hong Kong International Airport Master Plan 2030.[51] The study took three years and according to the authority, nine consulting organisations have been hired for the research, observation, planning and advice. The main focus is to improve the overall capacity and aircraft handling ability of the airport. Based on this, two options have been developed.
Option 1: Two-runway system
To maintain the current two-runway system, there will be enhancements to the terminal and apron facilities to increase the airport's capacity. This option will enable the airport to handle a maximum of 420,000 flight movements per year, with annual passenger and cargo throughput increased to 74 million and six million tonnes respectively. The approximate cost of this plan is $23.4 billion Hong Kong dollars in 2010 prices, or HK$42.5 billion in money-of-the-day[when?] prices. The Airport Authority estimates that the airport will reach its maximum runway capacity sometime around 2020 if no extra runway is added.
Option 2: Three-runway system
This plan will focus on adding a third runway to the north of the Chek Lap Kok, the existing island the airport is built on, by land reclamation, using deep cement mixing, of about 650 hectares (1,600 acres). Associated facilities, additional terminals, airfield and apron facilities, will be built as well, and, combined with the new runway, it is estimated that the airport would be able to handle a maximum of 620,000 flights per year (102 per hour, or about one flight every 36 seconds), and meet forecast annual passenger and cargo throughput of about 97 million and 8.9 million tonnes by 2030 respectively.[52]
There are possible drawbacks. Development costs are a concern: although the proposal would increase the number of direct jobs associated with HKIA to 150,000 by 2030 and generate an ENPV of HK$912 billion (in 2009 dollars), the estimated cost is approximately $86.2 billion (2010) Hong Kong Dollars, or HK$141.5 billion (at money-of-the-day prices).[53] There are also environmental and local noise pollution concerns.
On 20 March 2012, the Hong Kong Government adopted this option as the official expansion plan.[54]
The third runway, with its own dedicated passenger concourse (T2 Concourse), was built parallel to the current two runways on reclaimed land directly north of the existing airport island. The third runway (referred as the North runway) began operations in July 2022, while the original North runway (re-designated as the Centre runway) was closed for reconfiguration and is expected to be completed by 2024, alongside other facilities of the Three-runway system project including the T2 expansion, new T2 Concourse, automatic people mover, and baggage handling system.[55][56][57][58]
Airlines and destinations
Passenger
Cargo
 | This section needs additional citations for verification. (January 2018) |
Statistics
| Operations and Statistics[157][158][159][160] | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Passenger movements |
Airfreight (tonnes) |
Aircraft movements |
| 1998 | 28,631,000 | 1,628,700 | 163,200 |
| 1999 | 30,394,000 | 1,974,300 | 167,400 |
| 2000 | 33,374,000 | 2,240,600 | 181,900 |
| 2001 | 33,065,000 | 2,074,300 | 196,800 |
| 2002 | 34,313,000 | 1,637,797 | 206,700 |
| 2003 | 27,433,000 | 2,642,100 | 187,500 |
| 2004 | 37,142,000 | 3,093,900 | 237,300 |
| 2005 | 40,740,000 | 3,402,000 | 263,500 |
| 2006 | 44,443,000 | 3,580,000 | 280,000 |