The Hong Kong International Airport is one of the busiest hubs of Air Travel in all of South Asia.
It is located in Chek Lap Kok , just off Lantau Island in South Western Hong Kong. This super modern air traveler’s paradise has been in operation since July 6, 1998. The old International Airport at Kai Tak was made defunct, owing to it’s small size and inability to handle the increasing domestic and international air traffic.
Some interesting facts about the Hong Kong International Airport –
- Designed by Sir Norman Foster, eminent British Architect and constructed by Bechtel, the project was 8 years in the making and cost about USD 20 billion.
- The Airport has been designed to accommodate over 80 million passengers annually, however the current passenger numbers stand at approximately 47 million.
- The Airport was inaugurated by the Chinese Premier, Jiang Zemin . Then US President Bill Clinton was the first International passenger to have landed at the airport.
- It is part of Hong Kong Airport Core Program , an airport infrastructure development board. The Hong Kong International Airport is built on the reclaimed land on the mountainous islands of Chep Lap Kok and Lam Chau and part of Lantau Island .
- The airport platform is a remarkable 1225 hectares and is built on completely leveled land. Terminal 1 is 570,000 sq.m long and is the world’s largest covered space . There are two parallel runways of 3800 m each. Terminal 2 has recently become operational in February 2007.
- The double deck Tsing Ma suspension bridg e connects the Airport to the Hong Kong Island with the High Speed Rail System and Road links.
- Received the World’s Best Airport Award from SkyTrax five times since it’s inception, last year it was a close runner up to Singapore ‘s Changi Airport .
- The airport is the world’s fifth busiest in terms of air travel and the first in international cargo handling.
- The Hong Kong Airport can be reached within 5 hours of most of the Southern Hemisphere’s major destinations.
- Important airliners like Cathay Pacific and Air Hong Kong are located out of the Airport.
The Airport has a highly efficient infrastructure and excellent facilities to cater to the comfort of passengers. There are various well equipped airline and airport lounges, restaurants and coffee shops, duty free shopping facilities, Free Wi-Fi Internet connectivity at selected lounges, medical centers, a post office, foreign exchange counters and ATMs.
Hong Kong Facts