HONG KONG – 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 787 Dreamliner successfully landed at 5.06pm, almost three hours after the last passenger plane descended on the city. The flight coded ET608 had left Thai capital Bangkok at around 1.45pm.

No other planes were departing 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 cancelled on Friday, according to the local airport authority. Cathay Pacific, the city’s flagship carrier, halted all Hong Kong flights from 2pm on Friday until 10am on Saturday. Most public transport has been suspended in the city.

Super Typhoon Saola has maximum sustained winds of 210kmh near the centre, and was 110km from the financial hub at 5pm, 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. BLOOMBERG