Now Boarding: New Hong Kong Airport

On July 6, Hong Kong will open the $20.1-billion Chek Lap Kok airport. So in order to experience the thrill of flying into the old Kai Tak airport--famed for being one the world’s most heart-stopping landings because the planes fly so close to apartment blocks that you can see what residents are watching on TV--you’d better get there before midnight, July 5.

The airy new high-tech airport is on an island of reclaimed land off Lantau, about a 40-minute taxi ride from Hong Kong’s central district. Getting there will take a little longer and cost a little more than the ride to the old airport, but its expansive size and 24-hour flight schedule means more chances to get into--and out--of Hong Kong.

The Airport Express train shoots straight to central Hong Kong in 23 minutes and costs about $11 to Kowloon and $12 to Central. Hotel shuttle buses and taxis will take you the last step to your destination. From the airport, taxis cost about $42 to Central.

Aiming for a seamless transition, officials will close the old airport at 11:30 p.m. on July 5 and open the new one at 6:30 a.m. the next morning (barring severe storms, in which case the switch will be postponed a week).

In that seven-hour window, 30 jumbo jets will make their shortest flight ever: an 18.6-mile hop from Kai Tak to Chek Lap Kok. That night, roads will be closed for a clumsy procession of 1,000 oddly shaped vehicles such as airplane pushers, baggage trains and moving staircases over highways and across a 4,475-foot-long suspension bridge.

The new airport, which has been called “the biggest construction project since the Pyramids,” will be able to handle 35 million passengers a year--5 million more than the old one.