Only plane flying to Hong Kong lands in middle of super typhoon

An Ethiopian Airlines flight risked a rare landing during a super typhoon, becoming the only plane to touch down at Hong Kong airport on Friday evening as strong winds buffeted the city.

The Boeing Co. 787 Dreamliner successfully landed at 5:06 p.m. local time, almost three hours after the last previous passenger plane descended into the city. No other planes were departing from Hong Kong or Shenzhen at the time.

The Ethiopian Airlines flight’s approach was tracked by 6,400 people worldwide on FlightRadar24, making it the most followed plane in the sky globally at the time.

The 787 landed on a wet runway with significant wind shear and moderate turbulence forecast on the landing phase of the flight with 32 knots of crosswind, according to the airport weather information system. 

About 460 flights in total have been canceled on Friday, according to the local airport authority. Cathay Pacific Airways Ltd., the city’s flag carrier, halted all Hong Kong flights from 2 p.m. Friday until 10 a.m. Saturday. Most public transport has been suspended in the city.

Super Typhoon Saola had maximum sustained winds of 210 km (130 miles) per hour near the center, and was 110 km east-southeast of the financial hub at 5 p.m., according to the observatory. It’s set to be the strongest storm to hit the city in at least five years.

Hong Kong’s airport is built on reclaimed land off the coast of Lantau island in the city’s west.