Hongkongers and travellers of a certain age will most definitely remember airplane landings at our old Kai Tak Airport, and even if they weren’t old enough to experience it, they’ll certainly have heard stories. Kai Tak was notoriously difficult to fly in and out of, being the only major international airport in the world that necessitated a 47-degree turn below 500 feet to make it onto the runway – having to fly this route among our city’s buildings meant that successfully landing in Hong Kong was a sign of excellence in pilots. As a passenger, descending into Hong Kong meant whizzing by Kowloon City so close that you could almost peer into people’s homes, vaguely worrying that the plane’s wings would take out someone’s laundry.
Our city is now commemorating the 100th anniversary of aviation history at Kai Tak, right as the Hong Kong Rugby Sevens wraps up in the brand-new Kai Tak Stadium. On Sunday, March 30, a Cathay Pacific A350 passenger jet will fly low across Victoria Harbour as a throwback to the days of planes roaring by almost right over our heads.
The flight route will take the plane past Central, Wan Chai, and North Point, before it loops around the southeastern end of Hong Kong Island near Shek O and Cape D’Aguilar, and flies back across Victoria Harbour through Kai Tak. Hong Kong’s flagship airline wrote in a Facebook post, ‘The thundering roar of the engines, the bustling neighbourhood right underneath… These collective memories of Kai Tak shall come alive on 30 March, back in where it all began.’
Depending on weather conditions, this special flight demonstration should take off around 4pm. On the day, the Civil Aviation Department will enforce a temporary restricted flying zone in and around Victoria Harbour, so leave your drones, model aircrafts, kites, and balloons at home!
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