What airport is HKG?
Why the code is HKG
Hong KonG.
The airport authority or a contemporaneous record states this directly.
The airport
- IATA code
- HKG
- ICAO code
- VHHH
- Airport
- Hong Kong International Airport
- City
- Hong Kong
- Opened
- 1998
- Code origin
- Documented
It replaced Kai Tak, whose approach required a hard visual right turn at 200 metres over apartment blocks, guided by a giant orange-and-white checkerboard painted on a hillside. Kai Tak was one of the most difficult routine approaches in commercial aviation and closed the day the new airport opened, in a single overnight move.
Codes it used to have
| Code | Until | What happened |
|---|---|---|
| HKG | 1998 | The code transferred from Kai Tak, which held it until the airport closed. |
The other code, VHHH
Every airport has two codes. The three-letter IATA code, HKG, is the one on your boarding pass and your luggage tag, and it is assigned for commercial use. The four-letter ICAO code, VHHH, is the one pilots and controllers use, and it is assigned geographically: the first letter or two identify the region, so every airport in the same part of the world shares a prefix. That is why VHHH looks nothing like HKG.
Common questions
- What airport is HKG?
- Hong Kong International Airport, in Hong Kong.
- Why is Hong Kong's airport called HKG?
- Hong KonG.
- What is the difference between HKG and VHHH?
- HKG is the IATA code, used commercially — tickets, timetables, luggage tags. VHHH is the ICAO code, used operationally by pilots and air traffic control, and assigned geographically by region.
Related pages
- Airport codes in Hong Kong 1 here
Sources
- OurAirports — OurAirports (Public domain)