Hong Kong International Airport needs more handling capacity
Source:aircargoweek 2014-1-27 9:38:00
In his policy address on 15 January AA CEO and chairman, Dr Marvin Cheung Kin-tung, says there is an urgency to expand the airport's handling capacity. This follows ongoing calls for a third runway at the airport, which could begin operation by 2023. The AA has stated that it plans to submit the environmental impact assessment for the three runway system to the Environmental Protection Department in the first quarter of this year.Cheung Kin-tung says: "In 2013, HKIA broke records with nearly 60 million passengers and 372,000 flight movements. Cargo throughput also saw healthy growth, exceeding 4.1 million tonnes. These traffic volumes are growing at faster than expected rates and reflect the increasingly pressing need to expand the airport into a three-runway system."The AA has also welcomed the government's plan to consider setting up a civil aviation training institute. The calls for HKIA's expansion are also supported by Hong Kong airline Dragonair. The airline's CEO, Patrick Yeung, says: "We are encouraged by the government's reiteration that there is an urgent need to construct a third runway, and we look forward to the speedy development of this project to ensure that Hong Kong International Airport can continue to thrive."