Introduction
Connecting UK & HK: A Review of Its Aviation Development
14/12/2016 – 9/1/2017
1/F Lobby, Hong Kong Museum of History
Jointly presented by
Ming-Ai (London) Institute
British Airways Heritage Collection
Supported by
Leisure and Cultural Services Department
On 24 March 1936, Imperial Airways, a predecessor airline of today's British Airways, flew into Hong Kong Kai Tak Airport from London Corydon Airport, ending a journey that had taken eight days with 23 stops, including two days on a train between Paris in France and Brindisi in Italy, operating five different aircraft types. Eight days would be unthinkable today, but in 1936 it brought Hong Kong into the modern world of rapid communication by air of people, mail and cargo, taking days rather than weeks by ship.
80 years to date, the London – Hong Kong air route has undergone significant changes. This exhibition aims to walk the audience down the memory lane, from the historic Hong Kong Kai Tak Airport in the 1930s to today's modern London Heathrow Terminal 5. It showcases the developments of aviation technology, air navigation systems and route developments, improvements in passenger experiences, and the numerous facelifts of Hong Kong Kai Tak Airport and its Kowloon City neighbourhood – all of which have had profound impact not only on air travel, but also on the cultural and economic exchanges between the people, who call Hong Kong, or the UK, or both, "home".