Against the odds: How Hong Kong Airport maintained air of calm with four flights landing safely during Typhoon Wipha
July 22, 2025
Despite the highest storm alert being in place, four Hong Kong Airlines flights touched down safely in Hong Kong on Sunday 20 July.
Normal operations have now resumed at Hong Kong International Airport (HKIA) after the chaos caused by Typhoon Wipha over the weekend. The storm, which brought heavy rain and winds of over 167kmph, saw around 500 flights cancelled. Public transport and ferry services were also suspended.
Despite the chaos however, four Hong Kong Airlines flights that had departed from Chongqing and Beijing in China, Tokyo in Japan, and Denpasar in Indonesia landed safely at HKIA on Sunday afternoon.
How were the aircraft able to land?
According to a report in the South China Morning Post, experts said the right wind and operational conditions made the landings possible. The four aircraft touched down between 2.25pm and 4.04pm on Sunday.
The report referenced Steven Dominique Cheung, chairman of the Hong Kong Professional Pilots Association, who said: the pilots would have looked at factors such as wind direction, wind speed and “crosswind limit”. This limit refers to the maximum side-on wind speed an aircraft can safely tolerate during take-off or landing. With a large aircraft’s crosswind often at around 80km/h experienced pilots can navigate challenging weather conditions effectively.
“While the aircraft type determines the limit, airlines also establish their own standards for the conditions under which a flight can land. Ultimately the decision to land rest on a safety assessment by the pilot, based on real-time weather conditions and air traffic laws,” said Cheung in the report.
A temporary weather window when wind speeds are reduced and there is a stable wind direction in the eye of the storm would also have helped make the landings possible.
HKIA maintained air of calm
Hong Kong International Airport (HKIA) had posted a statement on its website on 19 July warning that flight operations would be disrupted with significant cancellations or delays on 20 July.
The airport also said, “under adverse weather conditions, land transport services to and from the airport may be suspended or limited. When the No. 9 signal or above is hoisted, passengers should stay in the terminal to ensure safety.”
The typhoon registered a No. 10 signal.
A temporary rest area was set up in the terminal with seating, mobile charging stations and additional amenities. Extra staff were also deployed to provide assistance and distribute supplies.
Normal operations at HKIA have now resumed
By the end of Sunday however and with Typhoon Wipha gradually moving away from Hong Kong, the airport had resumed operations, activating its Flight Rescheduling Control System to coordinate the orderly recovery of flights.
The airport handled 400 flights on 20 July and over 1000 flights on 21 July. Normal flight operations were expected to resume on Tuesday 22 July.
Typhoon Wipha: Hong Kong airport to operate overnight, T3 signal to be issued at 7.40pm
— Bien Perez (@BienPerez) July 20, 2025
Hong Kong Observatory says it will lower the No 8 signal and replace it with the No 3 alert at 7.40pm; amber rainstorm warning cancelledhttps://t.co/VGzjyR7zWT pic.twitter.com/ugqgsfA24b
“The airport faced great challenges as the storm hit us directly during the peak season of summer travel,” said Steven Yiu, executive director, airport operations at AAHK.
“We activated the Airport emergency Centre to facilitate coordination among various departments and organisations. HKIA was able to maintain smooth operations and quickly resume flight operations after the storm, demonstrating our efficiency, our response capabilities strengthened through multiple exercise, as well as the concerted effort of all our stakeholders.”
Yiu also expressed his “deep gratitude to the airlines, other members of the airport community and various government departments” for helping to prepare before the typhoon and deploy extra manpower to assist passengers.
Typhoon Wipha moves on to Vietnam
With Wipha forecast to make landfall in Vietnam on Tuesday 22 July, travel disruption is also expected as heavy rain, strong winds and flooding are forecast along Vietnam’s northern coast. Airlines including Vietnam Airlines, Pacific Airlines Vietjet Air and regional carrier VASCO cancelled some flights on Monday and Tuesday.
