Hong Kong-based Cathay Pacific is returning to its roots at the former site of its spiritual home – the city’s Kai Tak Park. The airline has announced it will be partnering with Hong Kong’s new state-of-the-art Kai Tak Sports Park (KTSP) located at the site of the previous international airport as its exclusive Founding Travel Partner.
According to a statement issued by the carrier on February 24, 2025, KTSP is poised to become “the largest integrated sports and entertainment landmark in Hong Kong.” Cathay Pacific has been lined up to work in close collaboration to support KTSP in delivering sporting, cultural, and entertainment experiences to a global audience and the signing of the agreement “underscores Cathay’s ongoing commitment to promoting sports, arts and culture, and mega-events in its home city.”
The announcement regarding the new partnership was made by executives of both Cathay Pacific and KTSP at a ceremony at the Health and Wellness Centre, Kai Tak Sports Park, hosted by Cathay Pacific’s Chief Customer and Commercial Officer Lavinia Lau and attended by guests which included KTSP Chief Executive Officer John Sharkey.
The new venue, which will become Hong Kong’s largest arena venue to host a range of sporting, cultural, and entertainment events annually, is being constructed on the site of the old Kai Tak International Airport. The airport originally opened in 1925 and eventually closed in 1998 to be replaced by Hong Kong’s current air gateway at Chep Lap Kok (HKG). At its peak, the airport handled around 30 million passengers just using a single runway built from reclaimed land from Kowloon Bay.
Remembering Kai Tak
Before its closure in July 1998, the carrier had its entire operation, administration, maintenance, and support functions all based at the airport. Indeed, the last flight to depart the airport on the eve of its closure was a Cathay Pacific Airbus A340-300 departing on a ferry flight to the new airport located just a few miles away at Chep Lap Kok.
Through the new strategic partnership, Cathay Pacific and KTSP will introduce the first aviation-themed immersive experience in the Greater Bay Area with the Cathay-branded West Bridge, which connects the Sung Wong Toi MTR (metro) station with Kai Tak Stadium to “engage the Hong Kong community and rekindle people’s collective memory of the airline’s journey from its roots.” The space will also include an attraction to be known as ‘World Flyer’, a space dedicated to Kai Tak Airport in the form of a scaled-down representation of its major facilities to provide a welcoming learning environment for community interaction.
In addition, Cathay will be sponsoring other projects, events, and attractions at the KTPS in the coming years. The airline will also be hosting and co-sponsoring the world-famous annual Hong Kong Rugby Sevens tournament, to become the Cathay Pacific / HSBC Hong Kong Sevens, which will take place at KTSP for the first time from March 28 to 30, 2025.
What the partners are saying
“Having been Cathay Pacific’s home for many decades, the old Kai Tak Airport holds a cherished place in not only our hearts, as it is where our journey began, but also those of everyone who grew up in Hong Kong,” said Cathay Pacific’s Lavinia Lau. “In many ways, our return to Kai Tak as the exclusive Founding Travel Partner of KTSP is a testament to Cathay’s evolution from an airline to the leading premium travel lifestyle brand we are today. It also symbolizes our unwavering commitment to the continued growth and development of Hong Kong as a world-class city.”
“Through strategic collaboration with KTSP, we hope to bring together visitors from all over the world to our home by creating immersive experiences that enhance its international profile and celebrate its rich heritage. The exciting line-up of sporting and cultural mega-events at KTSP will surely boost tourism and inspire the people of Hong Kong,” Lau added.
“We are thrilled to welcome Cathay back to their original home,” commented KTSP’s John Sharkey. “Kai Tak was once the location where Hong Kong met the world and the world came to Hong Kong. We are so pleased that this partnership will help bring that symbolism to life once again as we embark on bringing world-class events for the people of Hong Kong and Cathay brings the global audience to our city as our exclusive Founding Travel Partner.”
