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The history of Hong Kong’s legendary Kai Tak Airport, famous for its challenging landings and thrilling flight path low over the Kowloon skyline is captivating. From its opening in 1958 to its closure in 1998, here are five stories that dive into Kai Tek’s lasting impact on the city and its residents.
1. Remembering Kai Tak, Hong Kong’s legendary airport that closed in 1998
When Kai Tak Airport closed after 73 years of operation it had become an icon of the city and a civic treasure renowned worldwide for its challenging landings. Learn the airport’s history, its impact on the residents of Kowloon living directly under its approach path, and the unforgettable experiences of passengers and pilots.
2. Dramatic landings, nostalgic memories and, of course, the smell of Kai Tak Airport, remembered
Hong Kong’s Kai Tak Airport was renowned for its thrilling landings and its dramatic approaches over Kowloon. But it was also a place where local kids gathered to do their homework thanks to the ever-present air con, and one which greeted air travellers with a rather distinctive smell.
3. Reporting Kai Tak’s first ‘direct’ flight from London in 1936 … a journey of 11 days
Read about the first ‘direct’ flight from Hong Kong to London as reported by the South China Morning Post. The pioneering air service was not quite as direct as modern airlines would envisage the term as the flight took an epic 11 days, with stops in exotic locations such as Penang, Saigon, and Cairo.

4. Historic opening of Kai Tak Airport’s ‘magnificent’ runway brings Hong Kong into jet age in 1958
A de Havilland Comet 4 in the livery of the British Overseas Airways Corporation (BOAC) was the first jet-engined aircraft to land at Kai Tak on September 11, 1958. Adam Nebbs explores the runway’s construction, its significance in Hong Kong’s place in global aviation, and the iconic aircraft that landed there.
5. When Hong Kong’s first night flight took off from Kai Tak to write a new chapter in the city’s civil aviation history
A Cathay Pacific Airways DC-3 took off at 8.30pm on July 18, 1959, in a landmark event that marked Hong Kong’s first ever night flight. The short 20-minute trip carrying newsmen and assembled special guests was made possible by Kai Tak Airport’s new runway lighting system.
Part of this article was produced with the assistance of generative AI


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Old Hong Kong

The history of Hong Kong’s iconic airport Kai Tak and its dramatic landings

People throng the terrace of a car park near Kai Tak in June 1998. Picture: SCMP


The Kai Tak runway under construction in the mid-1950s. Picture: Dragages Hong Kong

Concorde in Hong Kong: a visual history of the supersonic aircraft at Kai Tak Airport

British Airways’ flagship, the Concorde, arrives at Kai Tak Airport. Photo: SCMP

A French Concorde (F-BTSC) carrying Imelda Marcos among its passengers arrives at Kai Tak Airport on November 5, 1976. Photo: C. Y. Yu

While the aircraft stopped over, the first lady of the Philippines found time to do some shopping, the Post reported at the time. Photo: Sam Chan

Concorde (F-BTSC)  flies over Kowloon on November 6, 1976. Photo: Chan Kiu

Concorde (F-BTSC) takes off from Kai Tak Airport on November 6, 1976. Photo: Chan Kiu

Concorde (F-BTSC) pictured on November 6, 1976. It crashed on take-off at Paris’ Charles de Gaulle airport on July 25, 2000, killing everyone on board. Photo: C. Y. Yu

Captain Robert Arnott (right), of the luxury Queen Elizabeth II ocean liner, welcomes British Airways Captain Brian Walpole after the arrival of the Concorde at Kai Tak Airport in March 1985. Photo: SCMP

Ninety-six passengers on an around-the-world Concorde flight wait on the tarmac at Kai Tak Airport during a security alert in October 1989. Photo: SCMP

An Air France Concorde at Kai Tak Airport in November 1993. Photo: SCMP

A British Airways Concorde arrives at Kai Tak Airport in October 1994. Photo: Taras Kovaliv

Chan Tsz-long (right), a five-year-old leukaemia patient, and his three-year-old sister, Tik-ka (left), are thrilled to be given a tour of the flight deck of Concorde by Carol Ng in October 1996. Photo: David Thorpe 

Philip Benson, senior first officer of the Concorde fleet, poses with nine-year-old Chau Hoi-Yee and four-year-old Hung Wan-sze after 50 youngsters from the Hong Kong Society for the Protection of Children are given a tour of the aircraft in September 1997. Photo: Antony Dickson

Philip Benson pokes his head out of the cockpit of a British Airways Concorde at Kai Tak Airport in September 1997. Photo: SCMP

Hong Kong-bound China Airlines 605 skids off Kai Tak Airport runway, falls nose-first into Victoria Harbour — from the SCMP archive

The aircraft skidded off the end of the runway at Kai Tak Airport on November 4, 1993. Photo: Handout

Workers tend to the aircraft after it skidded off the runway. Photo: David Wong

Rescue boats and fire engines tend to the aircraft. Photo: Wan Kam-yan

Workers prepare to lift the plane. Photo: Alan Loynd

Seven photographers all faced the same charge of entering or remaining in the restricted area of Kai Tak Airport to cover the plane crash without a valid permit. Photo: SCMP

The aircraft being lifted out of the water. Photo: Alan Loynd

Hong Kong’s old Kai Tak Airport closes: ‘We’ll miss you’ — from the SCMP archive

A passenger plane roars over Kowloon City as it approaches Kai Tak Airport on April 18, 1995. Photo: Oliver Tsang

Crowds at Kai Tak for the airport’s final hours. Photo: Edward Wong

The front page of the South China Morning Post on July 6, 1998.

Dragonair 841 from Chongqing became the last flight in. Photo: David Wong

Kim Sharman, captain of CX251, the last commercial flight out, greets one of his passengers for the journey to London. Photo: Robert Ng

Cathay Pacific staff bid farewell to the last travellers. Photo: Robert Ng

The doors to the restricted area for departing passengers are closed for the final time. Photo: Robert Ng

When a plane plunged into Victoria Harbour, Hong Kong, killing six crew, in 1994

A plane crash in waters off Kai Tak Airport in Hong Kong resulted in the death of six Indonesian flight crew in 1994. Photo: SCMP

Two injured crew members recovering after their plane crashed into Victoria Harbour. Photo: SCMP

July 6, 1998: ‘Roger, over and out, Kai Tak’ - Hong Kong’s old airport closes

Cathay Pacific CX251, the last flight out of Kai Tak, takes off for London. Photo: David Wong

PostMag

Culture

Relive the thrill of Kai Tak Airport, from hair-raising landings to the first jet arrival


Relive the thrill of Kai Tak Airport, from hair-raising landings to the first jet arrival.


.css-1c6uqr6{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;}Relive the thrill of Kai Tak Airport, from hair-raising landings to the first jet arrival

1. .css-jfmysa{display:inline;word-break:break-word;}.css-1ankfgb{cursor:pointer;display:inline;word-break:break-word;}Remembering Kai Tak, Hong Kong’s legendary airport that closed in 1998

Relive the thrill of Kai Tak Airport, from hair-raising landings to the first jet arrival

1. Remembering Kai Tak, Hong Kong’s legendary airport that closed in 1998