Kai Tak Airport (IATA: HKG, ICAO: VHHH) was the international airport of Hong Kong from 1925 until 1998. It was officially known as the Hong Kong International Airport from 1954 to 6 July 1998, when it was closed and replaced by the new Hong Kong International Airport at Chek Lap Kok, 30 km to the west. It is often known as Hong Kong Kai Tak International Airport, or simply Kai Tak, to distinguish it from its successor which is often referred to as Chek Lap Kok Airport.
With numerous skyscrapers and mountains located to the north and its only runway jutting out into Victoria Harbour, landings at the airport were dramatic to experience and technically demanding for pilots. The History Channel program Most Extreme Airports ranked it as the 6th most dangerous airport in the world.
The airport was home to Hong Kong's international carrier Cathay Pacific, as well as regional carrier Dragonair, freight airline Air Hong Kong and Hong Kong Airways. The airport was also home to the former RAF Kai Tak.
Read more about Kai Tak Airport: Geographic Environment, Accidents, Incidents
Famous quotes containing the words tak and/or airport:
“Should auld acquaintance be forgot
And never brought to mind?
...
We’ll tak a cup o’kindness yet,
For auld lang syne.”
—Robert Burns (1759–1796)
“Airplanes are invariably scheduled to depart at such times as 7:54, 9:21 or 11:37. This extreme specificity has the effect on the novice of instilling in him the twin beliefs that he will be arriving at 10:08, 1:43 or 4:22, and that he should get to the airport on time. These beliefs are not only erroneous but actually unhealthy.”
—Fran Lebowitz (b. 1950)