Kai Tak Airport
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Kai Tak Airport 啟德機場 |
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Kai Tak Airport in 1998, the morning after its closure
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| Summary | |||||||||||
| Airport type | Public, Defunct | ||||||||||
| Operator | Civil Aviation Department | ||||||||||
| Serves | Hong Kong | ||||||||||
| Location | Kowloon Bay, Hong Kong | ||||||||||
| Elevation AMSL | 9 m / 30 ft | ||||||||||
| Coordinates | 22°19′43″N 114°11′39″E / 22.32861°N 114.19417°ECoordinates: 22°19′43″N 114°11′39″E / 22.32861°N 114.19417°E | ||||||||||
| Map | |||||||||||
 Kai Tak Airport
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| Runways | |||||||||||
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| Kai Tak Airport | |||||||||||||
| Traditional Chinese | 啟德機場 | ||||||||||||
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| Simplified Chinese | 启德机场 | ||||||||||||
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| Transcriptions | |
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| Standard Mandarin | |
| Hanyu Pinyin | Qĭdé Jīchǎng |
| Wade–Giles | Ch'i3-te2 chi1-ch'ang2 |
| Yue: Cantonese | |
| Jyutping | Kai2 dak1 gei1 coeng4 |
Kai Tak Airport (IATA: HKG, ICAO: VHHH) was the international airport of Hong Kong from 1925 until 1998. It was officially known as 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 kilometres (19 mi) to the west. It is often known as Hong Kong International Airport, Kai Tak, 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.
Kai Tak was located on the west side of Kowloon Bay in Kowloon, Hong Kong. The area is surrounded by rugged mountains. Less than 10 km (6.2 mi) to the north and northeast is a range of hills reaching an elevation of 2,000 ft (610 m). To the east of the runway, the hills are less than 5 km (3.1 mi) away. Immediately to the south of the airport is Victoria Harbour, and farther south is Hong Kong Island with hills up to 2,100 ft (640 m).
When Kai Tak closed, there was only one runway in use, numbered 13/31 and oriented southeast/northwest (134/314 degrees true, 136/316 degrees magnetic). The runway was made by reclaiming land from the harbour and was extended several times after its initial construction. The runway was 3,390 m (11,120 ft) long when the airport closed.
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