Hong Kong International Airport (IATA: HKG , ICAO: VHHH ) is the main airport in Hong Kong, People's Republic of China. It is colloquially known as Chek Lap Kok Airport (赤鱲角機場), because it was built on the island of Chek Lap Kok by land reclamation, and also to distinguish it from its predecessor, the closed Kai Tak Airport.
The airport opened for commercial operations in 1998, replacing Kai Tak, and is an important regional trans-shipment centre, passenger hub and gateway for destinations in Mainland China (with over 40 destinations) and the rest of Asia. Despite a relatively short history, Hong Kong International Airport has won seven Skytrax World Airport Awards in just ten years.
HKIA also operates one of the world's largest passenger terminal buildings and operates twenty-four hours a day. The airport is operated by the Airport Authority Hong Kong and is the primary hub for Cathay Pacific, Dragonair, Hong Kong Express Airways, Hong Kong Airlines, Air Hong Kong and Asia Jet . Flights are operated by roughly 90 airlines to over 150 cities across the globe, and in 2008 it was the 12th busiest airport worldwide in terms of passenger throughput, registering 47,857,746. HKIA is also an important contributor to the Hong Kong economy, with 60,000 people employed at the airport.
In 2008, it was the second busiest airport in the world in terms of cargo traffic, handling 3,660,901 tons of cargo.
History
See also: Aviation history of Hong KongChek Lap Kok Airport was designed as a replacement for the former Hong Kong International Airport (commonly known as Kai Tak Airport) originally built in 1925. Located in the densely built-up Kowloon City District with a single runway extending into Kowloon Bay, Kai Tak had only limited room 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 met delays, largely due to lack of space for aircraft, gates, and a second runway. In addition, noise mitigation measures restricted nighttime flights, as severe noise pollution (exceeding 105 dB(A) in Kowloon City) was estimated to adversely affect at least 340,000 people.
A 1974 planning study by the Hong Kong Civil Aviation and Public Works department 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. Construction of the new airport, however, did not begin until 1991. The construction period was very rushed in which specialists considered only a 10-20 year period was sufficient for the massive project. Another cause for this rush was due to the uncertain future of the airport construction after the Transfer of sovereignty of Hong Kong to Communist China. It was originally believed that Beijing preferred to keep everything basically intact and minimize financial commitments for big projects, therefore stopping all construction despite the need for the new airport. At last, the airport did not finish in time for the Handover. However, the Communist Party of China gave an additional one year's grace period to finish the project. It was finished just in time.
Hong Kong International Airport was built on a large artificial island, formed by leveling Chek Lap Kok and Lam Chau islands (3.02 km² and 0.08 km² respectively), and reclaiming 9.38 km² of the adjacent seabed. The 12.48 km² airport site added nearly 1% to Hong Kong's total surface area; it connects to the north side of Lantau Island near Tung Chung new town.
Construction of the new airport was only part of the Airport Core Programme, which also involved construction of new road 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.
With one of the world's largest airport terminals, the ability to withstand an intense typhoon was a major concern. The sides of the terminals, predominantly glass, were designed to break during high speed winds, relieving pressure and allowing the terminal to remain standing.
Opened on 6 July 1998, a week later than the new Kuala Lumpur International Airport, it took six years and US$20 billion to build. On that day at 6:25 a.m., Cathay Pacific's CX889 was the first commercial flight to land at the airport, pipping the original CX292 from Rome which was the scheduled first arrival. The architects were the world-famous Foster and Partners. However, on the first day of opening, the airport had already started to experience some technical difficulties. 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 data was stored, went down. In the same period of time, someone had accidentally deleted a critical database for cargo services. This meant that cargo had to be manually stored. At one point, the airport had to turn away freight headed for and exported from Hong Kong (except food and medical supplies) while it sorted out the mess. HKIA simply could not keep up without an automated computer assisting. For three to five months after its opening, it suffered various severe organisational, mechanical, and technical problems that almost crippled the airport. Computer glitches were to blame for the crisis. Lau Kang-way, 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 a breakdown at the new cargo terminal, named Super Terminal One (ST1). However, after six months the airport started to operate normally.
Officially opened in June 2007, the second airport terminal, called T2, (check-in facility only) is linked with the Airport Express Line with 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, are slated to begin operation in 2008 and 2009 repectively. Development around T2 also includes the AsiaWorld-Expo which has started operation in late 2005.
A study for the HKIA Master Plan 2030 is underway to examine whether and how infrastructures at HKIA - including airport access, terminal and apron facilities and a new runway - should be developed to support the economic growth of Hong Kong and the region.
Operations
The airport is operated by the Airport Authority Hong Kong, a statutory body wholly owned by the Government of Hong Kong Special Administrative Region. The Civil Aviation Department (CAD) is responsible for the provision of air traffic control services, certification of Hong Kong registered aircraft, monitoring of airlines on their compliance with bilateral Air Services Agreements, and the regulation of general civil aviation activities.
The airport has two parallel runways, both of which are 3800 metres in length and 60 metres wide, enabling them to cater to the next generation of aircraft. The south runway has been given a Category II Precision Approach, while the north runway has the higher Category IIIA rating, which allows pilots to land in only 200 metre visibility. The two runways have an ultimate capacity of over 60 aircraft movements an hour. At present there are 49 frontal stands, 28 remote stands and 25 cargo stands. Five parking bays at the Northwest Concourse are already capable of accommodating the arrivals of the next generation of aircraft. A satellite concourse with 10 frontal stands for narrow body aircraft is under construction to the north of the main concourse for commissioning by the end of 2009, bringing the total number of frontal stands at the airport to 59.
The airport was the third busiest airport for passenger traffic in Asia in 2008, and the world's second busiest airport for cargo traffic in 2008. In terms of international traffic, the airport is the third busiest for passenger traffic and the busiest for cargo since its operation in 1998. There are 85 international airlines providing about 800 scheduled passenger and all-cargo flights each day between Hong Kong and some 150 destinations worldwide. About 76 percent of these flights are operated with wide-bodied jets. There are also an average of approximately 31 non-scheduled pas
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