Hong Kong International Airport

Hong Kong International Airport is the largest airport in Asia, and in Hong Kong.

History

Chek Lap Kok was designed as a replacement of the former Hong Kong's Kai Tak built in 1925. It had only limited room for the steadily increasing air traffic.

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 airport replacement site. 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 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.

In fact, the Government has been looking for the best location for the construction of a new airport since the early 70s. The 1973 Long-term Planning Study on Air Transport Systems initially studied 30 sites and then gradually reduced to six, in order:

1. the Chi Mun Strait at the entrance of Tolo Harbour in the eastern New Territories;
2. a reclamation area in the western part of Lamma Island;
3. a reclamation area in the eastern part of Cheung Chau;
4. located in a reclamation area in Nim Wan, Deep Bay, offshore and in the northern part of Lam Kok Tsui;
5. a reclamation area near the border in the Shenzhen River Delta; and
6. Chek Lap Kok

Finally, the Government selected Chek Lap Kok as the ideal location and conducted a feasibility study in 1979 and subsequently commenced a comprehensive master plan study in 1982

The Hong Kong Airport Core Plan comprises the "Ten Core Projects", which include the following infrastructure in addition to the construction of the new airport:

• construction of Tung Chung New Town (Phase 1) as a supporting city for the new airport;
• the construction of the Airport Railway, the Tung Chung Line and the Airport Express, the world's first railway dedicated to airports;
• construction of the North Lantau Highway to connect the Lantau Link and the new airport;
• The construction of the Lantau Link consists of the Tsing Ma Bridge, the Kap Shui Mun Bridge and the Ma Wan Viaduct;
• construction of Tsing Yi and Kwai Chung sections of Route 3;
• construction of the West Kowloon Highway to connect Tsing Kwai Road and the Western Harbour Crossing Toll Plaza;
• construction of the third cross-harbour tunnel, the Western Harbour Crossing (Cross-Harbour Crossing);
• The West Kowloon Reclamation Project will fill in 334 hectares of land between Yau Ma Tei and Lai Chi Kok;
• The first phase of the Central Reclamation Project will reclaim 20 hectares of land for the construction of Hong Kong Station, Central Pier and Central Pier Bus Terminus.

In addition, the Ting Kaw Bridge connecting Tsing Yi Northwest to Ting Kau and the Tai Lam Tunnel (i.e. Tsing Long Highway) connecting Kam Tin to Ting Kau in the Northwest New Territories were completed at the same time. The two infrastructure projects are not part of the Airport Core Plan themselves, but they are also the main roads connecting the new airport with the North West New Territories, and can also be regarded as one of the airport core projects, i.e. Project 11.

In the PADS Study, the consultants had advised the earliest that the airport can be opened is in January 1998. However, in reaching the government's decision, the date was modified to January 1997, six months prior to the handover of the territory to China. Construction began in 1991. 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. John Major opened the Tsing Ma Bridge and the supporting community in May 1997. The airport only opened on 6 July 1998.

Before the reclaim of land to build a new airport, the Hong Kong Archaeological Society conducted archaeological work on Chek Lap Kok Island and removed the excavated cultural relics for preservation, and the Tin Hau Temple on the island was also dismantled and moved to Chek Lap Kok New Village in Tung Chung for redevelopment. As for the "Lo Wen's tree frog" that is unique to Hong Kong, it also inhabits Chek Lap Kok, and the World Wide Fund for Nature Hong Kong launched a campaign in 1991 and 1992 to successfully rescue all the baby tree frogs and send them to the University of Hong Kong and Melbourne Zoo for artificial breeding. In the end, experts selected several reception sites in Hong Kong to release the captive-bred tree frogs into the wild.

The construction period was very rushed, it only considered 10-20 years for the major project. 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 removed most of its objections and work then continued, albeit behind schedule.

Hong Kong International Airport was built on a large artificial island formed by flattening and levelling Chek Lap Kok and Lam Chau islands, and reclaiming the land next to the adjacent seabed.

The airport was officially opened in an opening ceremony by President Jiang Zemin at noon Hong Kong Time on 2 July 1998. Hours later, Air Force One, carrying United States President Bill Clinton, landed at the new airport and became the first foreign visitor to arrive at the new airport. 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 889 became the first commercial flight to land at the airport, pipping the original CX 292 from Rome which was the scheduled first arrival. 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. 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." At one time, the government reopened the cargo terminal at Kai Tak Airport to handle freight traffic because of the breakdown of the new cargo terminal, known as Super Terminal One (ST1).

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 is the most expensive airport project ever, according to Guinness World Records. Construction of the new airport was voted as one of the Top 10 Construction Achievements of the 20th Century at the ConExpo conference in 1999.

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.

People Mover

The Hong Kong International Airport Automated People Mover is a driverless people mover located within Hong Kong International Airport. It operates in two "segments" within Terminal 1 and Midfield Concourse, and between Terminals 1, Terminals 2, and also connects to the Skypier.

The first segment runs between the East Hall and the West Hall in Terminal 1. The segment aims to provide a faster and easier way for passengers travelling between immigration and boarding gates at the far end of the Terminal. Westbound service is for departure passengers only, while eastbound service is for arrival passengers only. After arriving the West Hall, departure passengers should approach the boarding gates nearby and board their plane. Passengers are not allowed to take the APM back to the East Hall, where most shops are located. For eastbound service, after reaching the East Hall, all arrival passengers must disembark for immigration, customs, and baggage claim. Also, arrival passengers are not allowed to take the APM back to the West Hall. Since both the East Hall and the West Hall are located within Terminal 1, passengers can choose to instead use travellators or walk, though this will be more time-consuming.

The second segment of the system runs from the SkyPier to Terminal 2 and then continues to the East Hall of Terminal 1. Different from the first segment, the second segment is the only means by which these three places are connected. SkyPier passengers heading for departing flights must take the westbound service of this segment to the East Hall of Terminal 1. SkyPier passengers are not allowed to alight at Terminal 2. Departure passengers from Terminal 2 can join the westbound service of the second segment from Terminal 2. All passengers must leave the train when it arrives at the East Hall of Terminal 1. Then, depending on the boarding gate location of their onward flight, passengers can choose to change to the first segment of APM system at the opposite platform of the East Hall, to continue their way to the West Hall, or simply approach the boarding gate directly from the East Hall. The eastbound service is only for arrival passengers heading to SkyPier for ferry service to PRD ports. Ferry tickets will be checked before passengers may board the APM. Once arriving at the SkyPier, passengers are not allowed to travel back to Terminal 1. Since there is no eastbound platform in Terminal 2, there is no intermediate station for the eastbound service.

The section from the East Hall to SkyPier is for SkyPier passengers and staff only. The first segment began operations in 1998, while the second segment began operations in early 2007. SkyPier extension was opened to the public in late 2009; Midfield Concourse extension was opened in late 2015 when Midfield Concourse started operation.

The former Terminal 2 was closed down during the COVID-19 pandemic and was demolished in 11 June 2020.

Transport

Hong Kong International Airport is accessible by Route 8, which goes along Tsing Ma Bridge, Kap Shui Mun Bridge and through the North Lantau Highway, with the top speeds of 110km/h.

Double decker buses from Cityflyer and Long Win Bus, together with New Lantao Bus also connects to various places from Hong Kong, Kowloon and New Territories with the organised bus route structure, which terminates at Airport, AsiaWorld-Expo, Tung Chung, Hong Kong Disneyland and Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macau Bridge. A10 is the notable, it uses MAN NL262 before replacing it with double deckers in 2013, it goes from Ap Lei Chau to Hong Kong International Airport.

Airport Express

The fastest service from the city to the airport is the Airport Express, a dedicated high-speed rail link as part of the MTR rapid transit network. The line makes intermediate stops at Tsing Yi Island, West Kowloon, and terminates at Hong Kong Station at the northern coast of Central and Western District on Hong Kong Island. It takes approximately 24 minutes to reach the airport from Hong Kong station. MTR offers free shuttle bus services between Airport Express stations and hotels in the area, and free transfers are available to and from other MTR lines with a valid Octopus card which is not available to Single Ride Ticket users. Both Hong Kong and Kowloon stations provide in-town check-in services for major airlines.

The Airport Express line originally terminated at Airport station, where trains open doors on both sides, allowing direct access to either Terminal 1 or Terminal 2. It was later extended to AsiaWorld–Expo Station on 20 December 2005 to facilitate the opening of the nearby AsiaWorld-Expo. During events at the station some Tung Chung Line trains, which largely share the same tracks as the Airport Express, serve this station instead of Tung Chung, but these trains do not stop by Airport Station.

Destinations

Hong Kong International Airport is a main hub for Cathay Pacific, Cathay Dragon (formerly Dragonair) and Air Hong Kong.

Hong Kong is also connected to Singapore through Singapore Airlines, Cathay Pacific and United Airlines, together with Scoot.