Airsider | the hongkong report

The Hongkong Report

3. The new airport

Planning a new airport

In 1989, the Governor of Hongkong, Sir David Wilson, announced the plan to construct a new airport at Chek Lap Kok. After that decision, it took more than eight years, until the first aircraft touched down on the new airport. During the night to the 6th July 1998, all aircraft, vehicles and staff moved from the old Kai Tak airport to the new Chek Lap Kok site. After everything was moved to the new airport, the problems begun. Because of computer bugs, a lot of important systems went down. The aircraft could not dock to the gates and the passengers did not find the aircraft, because the information screens did not work anymore. Thousands of travellers were stranded at Hongkong's new airport.

After some days, these troubles were history. The crew worked very hard to find the bugs and eliminate them. So, after three weeks of breakdowns, the operation started to get well. Since then, Hongkong is one of the world's most agreeable airport to fly from. The large and spacious halls offers a lot of comfort to the passengers. And the large area is not a problem, ways are always very short. In only 40 minutes after leaving the aircraft, you can reach yourhotel in the city of Kowloon, including a 25 minute ride on the fast-train, which connects the airport to the city, of course!

Passenger's pleasure

The main passenger terminal, which has been designed by the British architect Sir Norman Foster is looking like an Y-sign. This terminal has just been completed with the opening of the last part in the last year. This terminal has a length of 1.27 kilometres from the entrance to the end of the Y-shaped concourse. Of course, you don't have to walk all this, if your aircraft is parked at the end of the terminal. An automatic people mover is at your service, connecting the gates with the main hall of the terminal.

In the terminal, a lot of shops are offering a vide range of products, from cigarettes and liquors to newspapers and traditional souvenirs. In the new part of the terminal, a lot of new shops opened last year, offering everything under the Cyber-topic. From Internet-Cafés to computer-shops.

Technical buildings

In addition to the passenger terminal, there are a lot of other important buildings to serve the travellers at the airport and on the flights. The world's largest flight kitchen, operated by Cathay Pacific, with a capacity of 80'000 meals per day is just one of the three catering companies at Chek Lap Kok. Lufthansa's LSG Service and SAir Group's (Swissair) Gate Gourmet do also run their kitchens at the airport. Together, they are able to produce 120'000 meals per day.

Have you ever noticed that Hongkong has two towers? Just beside the large tower, a smaller one is located. This is the so-called back-up tower, which is fully operational. In case of a major problem in the tower, the air traffic controller can move their workplace to the backup-tower and resume operation.