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Article overview Comparison of the new Chek Lap Kok airport in Hong Kong, with the legendary airport it is replacing: Kai Tak. Originally published in July 1998. Re-edited in December 1999. |
 he worldwide landmark of Hong Kong is dead. The aircraft that are almost touching the residential buildings on their checkerboard approach at Kai Tak airport have been re-routed. Chek Lap Kok airport just opened on July 6, 1998 and opens a new era in air transportation in Asia.
 Good ol' Kai TakKai Tak, the first international airport in Hong Kong, is one of the most famous in Asia and in the World. It is known worldwide for its unusual approach. A globetrotter in Hong Kong, Stephen Bailey, describes the landing approach to Kai Tak: "Whenever I fly into Hong Kong after dark I make sure that I have a window seat, for a night landing at Kai Tak remains one of the great experiences of Asian travel. The plane descends, mountains wrap around on either side, and then the neon galaxies of Kowloon erupt below in a riot of light. Sparking orange signs, rivers of red tail-lights, and a fluorescent checkerboard of windows melt into one dazzling mass of electricity as the plane lowers its landing gear. Just when I think the plane will begin shaving TV antennas from the tops of apartment buildings, the lights vanish into a black expanse of shimmering water. The jet drops lower and lower until a wet crash landing seems imminent, but as I reach for my life vest the plane touches down safely on a narrow runway jutting out into the harbor like an exclamation mark."Kai Tak is however a very congestioned airport working at more than 130% of its actual capacity, with more than 20 million passengers a year, one of the busiest in the world. And this is not the only problem. The residents quietly complain about the noise nuisance of the aircraft passing over their houses every 3 minutes, from 6 AM to midnight. On landings it's not much of a noise, but on take-off the planes are on full thrust and the walls easily vibrate.
Chek Lap Kok is on blueprintsThe previsions show that the growth of passenger movement in Southeastern Asia will sky-rocket, and Kai Tak, already overcongestioned, will be unable to service so many people. It will, eventually, even overflow and freeze operations. To allow Hong Kong to keep its growth, a new airport is planned on the Lantau and Chek Lap Kok island. The name of the airport is born: Chek Lap Kok. However the project is very expensive. Not only does it include the construction of a runway longer than Kai Tak and a mega-terminal, but also the express railway and the road system to reach the airport from downtown Hong Kong. The expense tolls climbs to 20 billion U.S. dollars (about 155 billion Hong Kong dollars). The airport is scheduled to open in 1997. However it opens a year later, as we know. The question is at the time: "What will become of Kai Tak?"... The Chek Lap Kok and Kai Tak dilemma is easiy comparable with Mirabel and Dorval (later renamed Trudeau) in Montreal. Dorval, relatively close to downtonwn. was forecasting an overflow of passengers. So a new airport located over 45 minutes from downtown, 4 times larger, is opened. The first phase was to transfer all international flights to Mirabel, then eventually all flights, and transform Dorval into either a regional airport or a flight school or museum. The reality is different as we know. Please read the article titled: "Mirabel: the airport where the future is past". However for Kai Tak the decision is simple: either the airport remains open as a regional airfield conveniently close to downtown for short shuttle flights to cities around Asia... or it closes entirely and becomes a residential area. The latter solution is considered today. Bigger and betterIn the meantime, the construction of Chek Lap Kok airport continues. It employs nearly 30,000 workers from 50 countries. It is a difficult job because the workers have to level hillocks on the Chek Lap Kok and Lam Chau islands. And also they have to almost remove the nearby Brother islands so that they won't be an obstacle for approaching aircraft. The airport alone costs 9 billion dollars. The extra 11 billion comes from the construction of the main access means of transportation. It includes two suspension bridges across to Landau and a brand-new expressway. To top it all, a high-tech express railway system will link the 34 km separating the airport from the Central business district in 23 minutes. Chek Lap Kok airport is built for the needs of the future. At the opening of the airport in July 1998, Chek Lap Kok is not built at 100%, but will reach its full size by the end of 1998. Here is a table comparing the two airports in size and capacity
TransitionUnlinke Mirabel and Dorval, the transition is a lot more difficult for Chek Lap Kok and Kai Tak. ALL the equipment must be transferred to the new site, in a period ranging from May 6 to early August. The ground equipment (tractors, baggage handling vehicles, etc.) can be transferred over 39 km of route separating both airports. The heavier equipment such as the scaffolding used by the maintenance crews will sail on 17 barges through Victoria Harbor.  And the 30 remaining airplanes parked at Kai Tak on the D-Day, July 6, will have no other choice than take-off as usual for the shortest domestic flight ever, over to Chek Lap Kok in 15 minutes... It's however 10 minutes longer than the world record for jet service (San Francisco to Oakland on a B727 on United Airlines) and 13 minutes away from the world record for prop service (Westray to Papa Westray on a Britten Norman Islander on Loganair).
The grand (?) dayHong Kong Chek Lap Kok airport is finally open, and so is the highway for access. The express bus and railway shuttle, linking to the airport from Downtown in less than 30 minutes are open. The airport staff is not prepared however for the reality that ironically strikes the new airports on Day 1 normally. Chek Lap Kok, the hi-tech airport, is even less efficient than Kai Tak on its first day! First, the baggage handling is not perfect. Some passengers have to wait a long time before collecting their luggage at the carrousels. But at least they're lucky: the passengers from other flights must wait on the parked aircraft to get out, sometimes not by jet bridge but by the usual old-fashioned remote gate with escalator and bus to the terminal.  For the first passengers leaving Hong Kong, it is the nightmare. The terminal is covered with so many signs and is so vast that finding your flight can take a long time... Also, the flight information panels are also having problems. But it seems that this kind of trouble is 100% normal for most major international airports on their first day. Kuala Lumpur suffered worse problems as its cargo operations for perishable items have been chaotic and the cargo that has been rotting for many days had to be disposed.
Hopefully the problems are gradually solved or at least cushioned. Soon enough, the airport will operate more efficiently than Kai Tak. Preparing the futureAs to conclude, Chek Lap Kok will most likely be a success. Even by its weak departure, its lifetime will be very rich in financial profits for the Southeastern Asia region. Kai Tak is nothing more than a souvenir and the residents living nearby the former airport are most likely uncorking their bottles of champagne as they no longer need the aircraft to wake them up in the morning! I suppose the alarm clock industry has sky-rocketed these few days! ... Links If you have other URLs to add to this list, or to report a dead link, please contact us.
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 Quote from Stephen Bailey: original from Vaportrails.com (defunct website) United Airlines B747: from Airliners.Net, photo by Andy Mok. Airport sign: original from the Hong Kong Airport Authority Plane mover: original from Time Magazine Asia © 1998-2008, airodyssey.net. All rights reserved. Disclaimer, trademarks, privacy policy. | |||||||||
