Hong Kong International Airport opened on 6 July 1998, replacing Kai Tak Airport after more than seven decades of service in urban Kowloon. The switch happened overnight. At around 1:20am, Kai Tak turned off its runway lights for the last time; by 6:27am, Cathay Pacific flight CX889, arriving from New York, had already touched down at the new facility on Chek Lap Kok Island, the first commercial service to land there.

The airport was designed by Foster + Partners and built almost entirely on reclaimed land. Engineers expanded Chek Lap Kok Island to 4 times its original area. The terminal's vaulted roof, a concept Norman Foster had pioneered at Stansted, created one of the world's largest enclosed public spaces, uncluttered and flooded with natural light. Cathay Pacific, whose global hub the airport has always been, operates extensive long-haul routes across Asia, Europe, North America, and beyond.

For decades, HKG has ranked among the world's busiest cargo airports, and in 2024 it claimed the top spot for the 14th time since 2010, handling nearly 4.9 million tonnes of freight according to Airports Council International. The airport has grown alongside that ambition. A third runway entered service in 2022, and the full three-runway system was formally commissioned in November 2024, designed to eventually handle 120 million passengers and 10 million tonnes of cargo annually. Positioned at the edge of the Pearl River Delta and connected to central Hong Kong in roughly 24 minutes by the Airport Express, it remains one of the most strategically placed airports in Asia.