I’m sure many of us eager beaver travellers have passed through Hong Kong International Airport. It’s the third busiest passenger airport after Dubai and Heathrow, and it’s the largest cargo handling airport in the world.
Yes, and I’ve even gone through there a couple of times. But what might screw with your head a bit is the number of gates that are displayed at the departures and arrivals areas. Which seem like a crapload at first sight, but there’s more than meets the eye here.
Anyway, one of my mates was travelling through there and said ‘Hong Kong airport. Wow 530 boarding gates and you catch a train within the airport to get to some of them’
And he then took this pic of the…..
Hong Kong International Terminal Gates!
OMG. Over 500 gates at an airport? I’ve been in airports that have been a tin shed with a ramshackle Duty Free Shop!
Wow, that’s more gates than you can poke a stick at (that’s a bit of silly Aussie Slang).
You wouldn’t want to be fluffing about at Gate 1, and then realise you have to run faster than Usain Bolt to reach Gate 530 before your plane takes off, meaning you have to fork out more cash for your next flight.
The thing is, there aren’t actually 530 physical gates at Hong Kong International Airport!
There are actually only 90 boarding gates. And 78 of them are actually physical jet bridge gates (that is, Gates 1–4, 15–36, 40–50, 60–71, 201–219, 501–510), and 12 virtual boarding gates (228–230, 511–513, 520–525) which are pretty much assembly points where buses pick you up and take you to one of the physical boarding gates.
And it looks like some gates are missing. I’m not sure where they went.
So the Hong Kong Airport authority make it look really impressive by having their gates numbered in the five hundreds, but even so, it’s an impressive and large airport that’s worth going through at some point in your life.
You’ll see so many human beings there, and you might even spot some weird Airport People while you’re there..
For more silly airport shenanigans, check out:
- the Dublin Airport Doodles
- Murphy’s Laws For Frequent Flyers
- Carry On Weight Baggage Limits
- the Best Airport In The World
- Weird Airport People
- Flight Delays and Status Updates – What To Do
- Become a Millionaire at Changi Airport in Singapore
- Airport Restaurants
- The Best Duty Free Airport Shop
500 gates? Insane Anthony. I too have seen a few tiny deals. Labasa, Fiji comes to mind. Airport is like a trailer LOL! A few folding chairs, eso es.