Kai Tak Countdown

The die had been cast, as Suetonius supposedly said of Caesar's crossing of the Rubicon. The Hong Kong Government had announced that Kai Tak was to be replaced, effectively by crossing our own Rubicon to a new, larger airport that would be built at Chek Lap Kok, off Lantau Island. So by the late 1980s, we knew that increasingly overcrowded Kai Tak was in countdown. Miraculously this amazing airport, located at the heart of one of the world's most densely populated cities, had maintained a virtually unblemished record through more than 40 years of operation. The first control tower had been built in 1935, the year I was born, and the first commercial airline commenced operation there the following year, with barriers and traffic lights to prevent road traffic from crossing the runway during take offs and landings. Despite a nerve racking final approach run that involved a ninety-degree turn on the final lap, to avoid crashing into Kowloon's mountainous backdrop, this would remain one of the world's most beloved airports, long after it ceased operation in 1998, lingering indelibly in the minds of all who flew from here.