Spotting guide for Hong Kong airport

Hong Hong Chek Lap Kok handles a lot of interesting aircraft. A mix of freighters and passenger aircraft serve this busy airport. For the plane photographer this is a rather difficult airport for taking photos of aircraft. From the outside of the airport there are few places to take photos. One of the best places requires taking a ferry boat and a long hike uphill. And still then you will miss lots of action because of the three runways in use. This guide has a description of most spots for photos but not for all.

In this article I will focus on the locations inside the terminal which can be used to take photos of aircraft. Mind all of those are behind glass. You will need to have a ticket to be able to access these locations. A hint is to fly with Cathay Pacific or Hong Kong Express. These airlines allow passengers the in-town baggage drop. So a passenger can drop the baggage up to 24 hours before departure of the flight at three stations downtown Hong Kong. This enables the plane photographer to wander around the restricted areas of the airport for the whole day. With just handluggage this is no issue ofcourse.

Most of the photos taken at Hong Kong from the terminal are taken during the dark. I guess many spotters depart for their home country in the dark. However very nice pictures can be made from the terminal during daylight.

The best moment for taking photos is during departure. Passengers can freely wonder around the terminals then.

One of the most spectacular places inside the terminal is at the Sky Bridge. This is a bridge connecting the main terminal with a satellite terminal. To get her after passing security and immigrations follow the signs to gates 13-22. After the two escalators you walk on the bridge and will see the planes parked at the gates. Walk all the way to the end. This spot offers an overview of some of the gates at the satellite and the main terminal. Also you have a great overview of the taxiway. This area faces north and east. This is an example of a photo make from the area. This is another nice photo. Mind the glass is at an angle here.

Mind only departing passengers reach the area’s marked in red. Arriving passengers can only walk on the eastern part of the Skybridge.

The satellite terminal has double windows. So for departing passengers inside the satellite terminal there are little places to take photos. For one exception. The terminal has quite a few places signed as observation deck. In fact these are outside places for smoking. While still behind glass you can take photos here.

At the end of the satellite T1 terminal there is a small observation area for smoking. This is only accessible for departing passengers. It is facing north. It is located between gates 13 and 2 near the toilets.

For departing passengers most of the gates offers the possibility to take photos. There are no double windows here. Arriving passengers will go to the arrivals levels directly after leaving the gate.

Gates 49 and 68 are good for an overview of the south and central runway.

The main concourse does not offer smoking areas which are outside for one exception. Soon after passing immigrations there is a smoking area. It is close to gate 10. You might be able to photograph taxiing aircraft from here. However there are many good spots in the area where the gates are.