Departure
96%
vs 95%
MY FS FLIGHTS
MY FS FLIGHTS
Kai Tak was Hong Kong's original international airport, sited on reclaimed land in Kowloon City on the northern shore of Victoria Harbour, and operated from 25 January 1925 until its closure on 6 July 1998. Its single runway, oriented 13/31 and built out into the harbour, became internationally famous as one of the most challenging airports in the world to fly into because of its dense urban surroundings. For simulator pilots it remains one of the classic historic airfields to recreate, combining a tight approach with a dramatic city and harbour backdrop.
Hong Kong International Airport Kai Tak was, for most of the twentieth century, the sole gateway airport for Hong Kong, tucked into the urban fabric of Kowloon City on the Kowloon peninsula. It began as a modest civil airfield in 1925 and grew, through reclamation and runway extension, into a major international airport before being superseded by the new airport at Chek Lap Kok in 1998. Its single runway, squeezed between hills and high-rise housing on the edge of Victoria Harbour, gave it an enduring reputation as one of the most demanding commercial runways anywhere, which is exactly what makes it such an attractive subject for simulator pilots today.
The airfield lies in Kowloon City, within the Kowloon City District of Kowloon, close to the northern shore of Victoria Harbour. Its position hemmed the runway in between the harbour waters and the hills and dense urban development of Kowloon, a combination that shaped both its layout and its approach.
Kai Tak had a single physical runway, 13/31, aligned broadly north-west to south-east across reclaimed land into the harbour. It was hard-surfaced and lit, with a landing distance of 10,726 feet available on runway 13 and 10,627 feet on runway 31. There was no ILS fitted to the field.
No ILS was installed at Kai Tak, so approaches to the runway were flown visually rather than on an instrument glideslope.
Kai Tak opened as a small civil airfield on 25 January 1925 at Kai Tak in the Kowloon City District of Kowloon, and for its entire operating life it remained the only international airport serving Hong Kong. Post-war economic growth and the rapid urban development that grew up around the site turned what had begun as a modest airfield into one of the very few major international airports in the world hemmed in by a dense city, and its single runway, 13/31, came to be recognised by international organisations as one of the most dangerous runways in the world. On 16 June 1954 the government approved an Airport Development Master Plan that included a 150-acre runway reclamation scheme; the resulting east-west runway, extending to 2,529 metres, was completed in 1958 after four years of construction. A temporary passenger terminal building opened on 21 September 1959, by which time the airport had been officially named Hong Kong International Airport. Kai Tak continued in this role until the new airport at Chek Lap Kok opened, and Kai Tak closed at around 1:20am on 6 July 1998, its international traffic transferring to the new field. The former airport site was subsequently redeveloped and is now known as the Kai Tak Development Area.
Kai Tak no longer functions as an airport; it closed in 1998 and its former site has been redeveloped as the Kai Tak Development Area. There is no current flying activity, fuel, or operating hours to report, and no permission process applies since the aerodrome is defunct. Its enduring fame as one of the world's most demanding approaches, set against the backdrop of Kowloon and Victoria Harbour, means it continues to be recreated as historic scenery for flight simulation.