Hong Kong Chek Lap Kok Airport

When spotters hear Hong Kong, they often think of Kai Tak first, and of jumbos between high-rises. Its successor on Chek Lap Kok is less spectacular to fly into but a heavyweight in almost every other respect: home of Cathay Pacific, one of the world’s largest cargo airports for years, and equipped with three parallel runways since 2024. For you, that means A350s and 777s in series, 747 freighters almost around the clock and a backdrop of green mountains and the South China Sea.

An airport from the sea

Kai Tak sat in the middle of Kowloon, was hopelessly congested and barely tolerable for residents anymore. So in the late 1980s, Hong Kong decided to build a completely new airport. It was the centerpiece of the Airport Core Programme, which also included new expressways, bridges, tunnels and a dedicated rail line. The site chosen was the small island of Chek Lap Kok off the north coast of Lantau.

It was built not on the island but out of it. Chek Lap Kok and the neighboring island of Lam Chau were leveled, and by far the largest part of the area was created by reclamation from the sea. Together with the transport infrastructure, the project is considered one of the most expensive airport undertakings ever. The new airport was officially opened on July 2, 1998, and began operating on July 6, 1998. The first commercial arrival was Cathay Pacific CX 889 from New York.

The history of Kai Tak ended that same night. Vehicles and equipment moved to Chek Lap Kok in an overnight operation under police escort, and the codes HKG and VHHH moved along with them. The article Kai Tak: the world’s most spectacular approach and the profile of Kai Tak Airport tell how spectacular the old approach over Kowloon was.

The start was bumpy. In the first months, display systems failed, and the cargo system could not cope with the volume. The government even briefly reopened the cargo terminal at Kai Tak. After that, operations ran stably, and Chek Lap Kok grew into one of Asia’s most important hubs.

The three-runway system

For two decades, Chek Lap Kok got by with two parallel runways. To allow further growth, additional land was reclaimed north of the island. In July 2022, the new north runway entered service there. Afterward, the former north runway was rebuilt and renumbered as the center runway. Since November 28, 2024, all three runways have worked together.

All three runways are about 3,800 meters long and aligned roughly east-west. With runway direction 07 in use, jets take off and land toward the east, with 25 toward the west. Wind and traffic decide which direction and which runways are active at any moment – you can only plan that reliably at short notice with the weather report and a live map. The article Understanding the runway direction in use at an airport explains how to read it.

Terminal 1, SkyBridge and the new Terminal 2

The heart of the airport is Terminal 1, one of the largest passenger buildings in the world. Attached are the T1S satellite from 2009 with ten jet bridge positions for narrowbodies and the Midfield Concourse, which opened at the end of 2015 and also offers positions for the A380. Since November 2022, the SkyBridge has connected Terminal 1 with T1S. The bridge is built so high that even an A380 can taxi underneath it – a special vantage point for photos from the terminal.

The old Terminal 2 closed in November 2019. In its place, a much larger building has been built, which reopened for departures on May 27, 2026. Arrivals areas and a dedicated concourse will follow in stages. So expect construction fences, changed bus routes and new walking routes for a while longer.

The airport also includes the SkyPier ferry terminal, where travelers from the Pearl River Delta can transfer without entering Hong Kong, the AsiaWorld-Expo exhibition center and a hotel and leisure area called SkyCity.

Cathay Pacific and the home airlines

In Hong Kong, Cathay Pacific shapes the picture. The airline was founded in 1946, is headquartered at Cathay City right at the airport and was a founding member of the oneworld alliance in 1998. You can recognize it by the Brushwing, a brushstroke on the green tail reminiscent of a bird’s wing. The Cathay Group also includes the low-cost subsidiary HK Express, wholly owned by Cathay since 2019, and the cargo airline Air Hong Kong, which flies for the DHL network in Asia. The former regional subsidiary Cathay Dragon was discontinued in 2020.

The fleet, including freighters, comprises about 180 aircraft. The Boeing 777-9 is also on order; when it will show up in scheduled service in Hong Kong depends on the type’s repeatedly delayed certification by Boeing. If you want to tell the A350 and 777 apart quickly, the articles A350 or Boeing 787 and Telling the Boeing 777 and 787 apart help.

Besides the Cathay family, Hong Kong Airlines with Airbus aircraft and the young Greater Bay Airlines with Boeing 737s are based in Hong Kong. On the cargo side, Hong Kong Air Cargo joins in.

Cargo: the real superlative

In passengers, Hong Kong is one of Asia’s big hubs; in cargo, the airport plays at the very top. In 2010, HKG passed Memphis and became the airport with the highest cargo volume in the world. According to the traffic statistics, just over 5 million tons were handled in 2025. The reason is on its doorstep: the Pearl River Delta is one of the world’s great workbenches, and a lot of electronics and high-value goods leave the region by air freight.

It is handled in several large facilities. Hactl’s SuperTerminal 1 is one of the largest standalone cargo terminals in the world. Cathay has operated the Cathay Cargo Terminal since 2013, and there are also the Asia Airfreight Terminal and the DHL Central Asia Hub, one of the major hubs of DHL Aviation.

For spotters, that means freighters almost around the clock. Besides Cathay Cargo and Air Hong Kong, you regularly see UPS Airlines, FedEx Express, Kalitta Air, Polar Air Cargo and Atlas Air. Many transpacific freighters connect Hong Kong with Anchorage Airport, and connections to Europe lead, among others, to Leipzig/Halle Airport. How the three big express integrators work is explained in DHL, FedEx and UPS, and Recognizing cargo aircraft helps you tell the freighter versions apart.

Guests from Asia and Europe

Passenger traffic is strongly regional. From mainland China come Air China, China Eastern Airlines and China Southern Airlines, among others; from Taiwan China Airlines and EVA Air; from nearby Macau Air Macau. Airlines from Japan, Korea and Southeast Asia such as Singapore Airlines, Thai Airways, Philippine Airlines and Vietnam Airlines add to that.

Hong Kong has traditionally been well connected to Europe, with Lufthansa, Swiss, Finnair and British Airways, among others. Cathay itself serves several European destinations. Which connections currently exist and with which equipment is best checked shortly before your trip, because schedules change constantly.

Registrations are a collecting field of their own. Hong Kong uses China’s nationality mark B, but with letter blocks such as B-H, B-K and B-L. Mainland China uses number combinations, and Macau has its own blocks. The system is explained in the article on Chinese B registrations.

Spotting at Chek Lap Kok

Hong Kong is a rewarding spotting destination if you are willing to walk. There is no official observation deck like in Europe, but there is a series of spots the community has used for years. The details – routes, ferry, focal lengths and light – are in the guide Plane spotting in Hong Kong. Here is the overview:

• Sha Lo Wan on Lantau: You reach the small village on Lantau south of the south runway by ferry from Tung Chung toward Tai O. From the pier and the slope above it, you see takeoffs, freighters and taxiing traffic in front of water and mountains.
• Scenic Hill: A hilltop on the east side of the airport island near Cathay City, with a view of takeoffs toward the east.
• Around Cathay City and HAECO: Several locations on roads and waterfront paths, easily reached by airport bus.
• Terminal 1: The solution for transfer passengers and rainy days, with a view through glass of taxiways and runways.

In the terminal, photography is generally fine as long as you keep security areas and staff out of the frame. Outside, you stay on public paths and follow instructions immediately. A drone has no business around the airport. General advice is in the articles Photography in the terminal and Spotting abroad.

Light, haze and heat

Hong Kong lies at a good 22 degrees north latitude. In summer, the sun is almost directly overhead at noon; in winter, it stands lower in the south. For the east-west runways, that means: on the south side near Lantau, you have the sun behind you for a long time in the winter half-year, while the north side works better on summer evenings. When exactly the light is right, you can work out with the article Planning sun position.

The bigger opponent is the air. In summer, heat and humidity weigh on you; in fall and winter, it is often hazy. Over the asphalt, the air shimmers so strongly that long focal lengths lose sharpness. Tips against it are in Avoiding heat shimmer. After a weather change, visibility is often crystal clear – make consistent use of such days.

Getting there

Since its opening, the Airport Express has connected the airport with the city center; it takes about 24 minutes to Hong Kong Station in Central. The bus to Tung Chung and on by MTR is cheaper. The island is linked to the road network via the North Lantau Highway and the connection to Tuen Mun, and buses run directly to Macau and Zhuhai across the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macau Bridge. If you come from the Pearl River Delta, you can also travel by ferry to SkyPier.

The article Camera equipment in carry-on luggage sums up what camera gear you may bring in your carry-on. For transfer passengers, it is worth a look at Spotting during a layover.

Hong Kong compared

In Asia, Hong Kong competes with several large hubs. Singapore Changi Airport is home to Singapore Airlines, Seoul Incheon Airport is another cargo giant with Korean Air, and Shanghai Pudong Airport is the big gateway to mainland China. If you prefer to stand on a real observation deck, you will be happy at Tokyo Haneda Airport with its observation decks.

You can also see Cathay jets in Europe, for example at Frankfurt Airport from the Zeppelinheim viewing platform. For a cargo focus in Europe, the Leipzig/Halle observation deck is a good choice. More destinations for your list are collected in the bucket list of spotting spots worldwide.

Conclusion

Chek Lap Kok is an airport of superlatives: built from the sea, the gateway to Hong Kong since 1998, among the world’s top air cargo airports since 2010, and equipped for further growth with the three-runway system and the new Terminal 2. For spotters, that means an abundance of Cathay widebodies, jumbo freighters around the clock and many Asian airlines that rarely land in Europe.

It does not replace the myth of Kai Tak. But if you bring patience with haze and heat, know the ferry schedule to Sha Lo Wan and make use of clear days, you come back with full memory cards.