Hong Kong’s Kai Kak airport’s runway was so terrifying to land that pilots needed special training to tackle a landing
It was the airport that made even the most seasoned pilots sweat. A concrete runway wedged between skyscrapers, mountains and Victoria Harbour – yes, Kai Tak in Hong Kong was once the world’s most terrifying place to land a plane.
For 73 adrenaline-fuelled years, millions of passengers clung to their armrests as they descended into infamy. Planes approached the city by skimming past apartment blocks so close you could practically see what was cooking in people’s woks.
During what became known as the ‘Hong Kong Turn’, captains had to manually veer 47 degrees to the right at the very last second, aiming their jumbo jets directly at a giant red-and-white checkerboard painted on a hill. It was so demanding that pilots had to undergo specific training to ensure they could land without incident as one wrong move and the result didn’t bear thinking about.
Videos from the era show 747s battling crosswinds, wings tilting over crowded streets, wheels touching down with rattling force on a runway that ended in the harbour. It was no wonder the airport earned the unenviable nickname of ‘Kai Tak Heart Attack’.
Residents living beneath the approach path remember having to pause conversations as engines roared overhead. Laundry was ripped from balconies. Ceiling fans rattled. On stormy days, the entire city held its breath.
Kai Tak, however, was a crucial hub for carriers like Cathay Pacific and Dragonair, playing a significant role in Hong Kong’s economic landscape. The airport’s confined space left no room for growth, though, and noise pollution was a massive problem for people living nearby.
And despite a night-time curfew eventually put in place to reduce the disturbance, the Hong Kong authorities ultimately opted to construct a new airport at Chek Lap Kok, situated on a secluded island off Lantau. When the airport finally closed 25 years ago on July 6, 1998, crowds lined the waterfront to watch the very last take-off.
Yet for all its terror, Kai Tak – also known as Hong Kong International Airport – inspired awe. It was the pinnacle of commercial aviation expertise, with only the most skilled pilots able to master it.
What became of Kai Tak after the jets moved out?
Today, the site of the world’s most fearsome airport has undergone a transformation so dramatic it’s hard to believe it’s the same place. Kai Tak is now a world away from roaring engines and dive-bomb landings, and instead a gleaming district at the heart of Hong Kong’s massive harbourfront regeneration project.
The old runway has been reborn as the Kai Tak Cruise Terminal, a futuristic, wave-shaped complex designed by the architect behind London’s Gherkin. Instead of 747s, the harbour now welcomes floating cities with enormous cruise liners carrying thousands of tourists.
What was once the edge of the runway is now a peaceful public park with sweeping sea views, where joggers, families and couples stroll in the very spot where jets once slammed down their wheels.
Around it, luxury flats, shopping districts, sports arenas and hotels are rising as Kai Tak becomes one of Hong Kong’s hottest new neighbourhoods. The area is buzzing, modern and unmistakably glamorous.
But for those who remember the old days, it will always be haunted by the deafening sound of engines and the nerve-shredding drama of that infamous final turn. Kai Tak may no longer terrify flyers, but its legend undoubtedly lives on.
