Originally Posted by
Curtain rod
It seems that the King Canute story is often misintepreted, as its meaning is actually the opposite of what it seems above:
King Canute and the Waves
Years ago (>6) they hired Aussie/Brit/Umurican rock star controllers in HK. They were all really good. But with the majority of aircraft in and out of the airport being WB or god help em "Supers", ATC just isn't that busy here on the radio. The two minute separation keeps the radio com pretty tame.
As far as cowboy RT, it is often required with one minute separation and 4+ active runways at the same airport. Not a lot of time to talk to each aircraft.
Flying into and out of HKIA is a breeze. Try ORD or ATL in the afternoon bank of arrivals, and then Air India or Air China check in and try to use perfect, slow, ICAO ATC. Then it is time to "cowboy up". Yeah it is not "right". But it is required.