Terminal parking apron at Kai Tak. The aircraft from top to bottom are:
a) Civil Administration of China (CAAC) Trident;
b) Philippine Airlines Boeing 747;
c) Pan American World Airways (Pan Am) Boeing 747 SP;
d) Cathay Pacific Airways Boeing 707 and
e) Canadian Pacific Air Lines (CP Air) Boeing 747
Pan Am and CP Air are defunct.
Comments
Observation deck
Of interest in this photograph can be seen the last Observation Deck/Waving Gallery at Kai Tak airport. (green colour rectangular roof area and adjacent platform next the Canadian Pacific B747)
The earlier Observation Decks had been very popular features at the airport for an afternoon’s cheap entertainment, and for people to see their friends and relatives arriving and departing. Entered via a full-height coin-operated entry/exit turnstile guaranteed to trap the unwary and children, the decks were festooned with airline company flags, generous seating, and refreshment facilities. They were a popular place to parade and show off with friends.
The Observation deck pictured here was created with the onset of the 1970/80s terrorist attacks on airport facilities world-wide. When all-enveloping ‘Air-Bridges’ hid passengers from view, the public could no longer enjoy the excitement of a first or last glimpse of their loved ones walking across the apron or using the open-air stairs to and from the aircraft.
This last deck was a grim enclosure of engine fumes, heat, humidity and noise hemmed in by dirty glass window screens that prevented any photography except through a few open six-inch gaps at the base of the screens. No longer a pleasant place to visit, it seemed to be empty most of the time.
Further terminal expansion developments utilized the deck and front of the building for what was probably the first Cathy Pacific Airways Business Class lounge. This had air-conditioned wide views overlooking the apron activities, but was definitely not for public use.