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To commemorate the 25th anniversary of the Kai Tak Airport’s closure, Blue Lotus Gallery is pleased to announce a special upcoming exhibition ‘Goodbye Kai Tak and Thank You’, featuring photographs by Canadian photographer Greg Girard and Hong Kong photojournalist Birdy Chu, offering a unique perspective on the airport’s history and legacy.
It was time for the last plane to depart from Kai Tak Airport, as the Cathay Pacific flight CX251 left for London Heathrow right after midnight on July 6, 1998. “Goodbye Kai Tak and thank you,” said Director of Civil Aviation Richard Siegel, before throwing the switch. The lights were turned out at Kai Tak around 1:20am, marking the end of the airport’s 73-year history.
Since the airport’s closure, the sight of planes flying across the Kowloon peninsula became a thing of the past, but Kai Tak has made its mark in Hong Kong’s culture, garnering much discussion and awareness into the present day, even as the airport’s site took on a new life.
Kai Tak Airport, also known as the Hong Kong International Airport, was the main airport of Hong Kong from 1925 to 1998. The airport was originally built as a small runway in Kowloon Bay in 1925, and was expanded over the years to become one of the busiest airports in Asia. The airport was known for its challenging approach, since pilots would have to navigate through a series of hills and buildings, making the sharp turn to land on the runway before reaching Checkerboard Hill. Surrounded by densely populated areas and mountains, the location of the airport only added to the difficulty of approach and landing. Despite so, the sight of planes across the panoramic view of the city’s skyline made the airport a popular spot for aviation enthusiasts and photographers.
The airport and planes created a dynamic visual backdrop for Girard and Chu, who sought to record and uncover different facets of life around the airport. whether it be planes flying over tong lau, or crowds of people in the busy districts. The terminal may be a bustling hub for travellers and international cargo, but pockets of silence appear as passengers stop to make a phone call before boarding. As the airport approached its imminent closure, the aircrafts themselves became a spectacle as onlookers would try to capture a piece of history, a memento of an era that came to a close.
