Hong Kong International Airport is the main airport in Hong Kong. It is located on the island of Chek Lap Kok, which largely comprises land reclaimed for the construction of the airport itself. The airport is also colloquially known as Chek Lap Kok Airport, to distinguish it from its predecessor, the closed Kai Tak Airport.
The airport has been in commercial operation since 1998, replacing the Kai Tak Airport. It is an important regional trans-shipment centre, passenger hub and gateway for destinations in Mainland China (with 45 destinations) and the rest of Asia. The airport is the world’s busiest cargo gateway and one of the world’s busiest passenger airports. It is also home to one of the world’s largest passenger terminal buildings (the largest when opened in 1998).
Construction of the new airport was only part of the Airport Core Program, which also involved the construction of new roads and rail links to the airport, with associated bridges and tunnels, and major land reclamation projects on both Hong Kong Island and in Kowloon. The project is the most expensive airport project ever, according to Guinness World Records. Construction of the new airport was voted as one of the Top 10 Construction Achievements of the 20th Century at the ConExpo .
Hong Kong International Airport is the southern gateway to Mainland China. Some 320 cross-boundary shuttle buses connect it with 90 Pearl River Delta (PRD) cities and towns. Passengers can use cross-boundary limousine to get to their PRD destinations directly. What’s more, with the SkyPier crossboundary ferry services, passengers from Pearl River Delta cities going overseas will have a comfortable trip as they do not have to go through the usual immigration and customs formalities in Hong Kong. At present, speedy cross-boundary arrangements are available at eight Pearl River Delta ports: Shekou and Fuyong ports of Shenzhen, Nansha port of Guangzhou, Humen port of Dongguan, and ports in Zhongshan, Zhuhai and Macau. At Shekou, Macau, Fuyong and Humen ports, passengers can even precheck- in their baggage and obtain their boarding passes. A new permanent SkyPier facility is currently under construction.
The airport is operated by the Airport Authority Hong Kong, a statutory body wholly owned by the Government of Hong Kong Special Administrative Region. The airport has two parallel runways, both of which are 3,800 meters (12,500 ft) in length and 60 meters (200 ft) wide. The south runway has a Category II Precision Approach, while the north runway has the higher Category IIIA rating, which allows pilots to land in only 200-metre (660 ft) visibility. The two runways have a capacity of over 60 aircraft movements an hour. The Airport is upgrading ATC and runways so that they can handle 68 movements per hour. Normally, the north runway (07L/25R) is used for landing passenger planes. The south runway (07R/25L) is used for passenger planes taking off and cargo flights due to its proximity to the cargo terminal.
There are 49 frontal stands at the main passenger concourse, 28 remote stands and 25 cargo stands. There are also five parking bays at the Northwest Concourse. A satellite concourse with 10 frontal stands for narrow body aircraft has been commissioned to the north of the main concourse at the end of 2009, bringing the total number of frontal stands at the airport to 59.
The airport was the busiest for passenger and cargo traffic traffic in Asia in 2010. In terms of international traffic, the airport is the third busiest for passenger traffic and cargo since its operation in 1998. There are over 95 international airlines providing about 900 scheduled passenger and all-cargo flights each day between Hong Kong and some 160 destinations worldwide. About 76 percent of these flights are operated with wide-body jets. There is also an average of approximately 31 nonscheduled passenger and cargo flights each week. The operation of scheduled air services to and from Hong Kong is facilitated by air services agreements between Hong Kong and other countries. Since the opening of HKIA, the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Government has implemented a policy of progressive liberalization of air services. Many low-cost airlines have started various regional routes to compete head-on with full-service carriers on trunk routes.
Baggage and cargo facilities
Ramp handling services are provided by Hong Kong Airport Services Limited (HAS), Jardine Air Terminal Services Limited and SATS HK Limited. Their services include the handling of mail and passenger baggage, transportation of cargo, aerobridge operations and the operation of passenger stairways. The airport has an advanced baggage handling system (BHS), the main section of which is located in the basement level of the passenger terminal, and a separate remote transfer facility at the western end of the main concourse for the handling of tight connection transfer bags.
HKIA handles over three million tons of cargo annually. Hong Kong Air Cargo Terminals Limited operates one of the two air cargo terminals at the airport. Its headquarters, the 328,000-square-metre (3,530,000 sq ft) Super Terminal 1, is the world’s second largest stand-alone air cargo handling facility, after the opening of the West Cargo Handling Area of the Shanghai Pudong International Airport on 26 March 2008. The designed capacity is 2.6 million tons of freight a year. The second air cargo terminal is operated by Asia Airfreight Terminal Company Limited, and has a capacity of 1.5 million tons a year. DHL operates the DHL Central Asia Hub cargo facility which handles 35,000 parcels and 40,000 packages per hour. Hongkong Post operates the Air Mail Centre (AMC) and processes 700,000 packages per day. It is envisaged that HKIA’s total air cargo capacity per annum will reach nine million tones ultimately.
Aircraft maintenance services
Both line and base maintenance services are undertaken by Hong Kong Aircraft Engineering Company (HAECO), while China Aircraft Services Limited (CASL) and Pan Asia Pacific Aviation Services Limited carry out line maintenance. Line maintenance services include routine servicing of aircraft performed during normal turnaround periods and regularly scheduled layover periods. Base maintenance covers all airframe maintenance services and for this HAECO has a three-bay hangar, which can accommodate up to three Boeing 747-400 aircraft and two Airbus A320 aircraft, and an adjoining support workshop. HAECO also has the world’s largest mobile hangar, weighing over 400 tons. It can be used to enclose half of a wide-body airplane so that the whole facility can fully enclose four 747s when the mobile hangar is used.
On 29 May 2009, CASL opened its first aircraft maintenance hangar in the maintenance area of the airport. The new hangar occupies an area of about 10,000 square meters (110,000 sq ft) and can accommodate one wide-body and one narrowbody aircraft at the same time; the hangar also has an about 10,000-square-metre (110,000 sq ft) area in its annexed building. CASL specializes in Airbus A320 family and Boeing 737 Next Generation series heavy maintenance.
Hong Kong’s International Airport’s extensive fight network reaches about 160 destinations worldwide. The huge amount of passengers and cargo it handles makes it one of the world’s finest and busiest airports fully supporting Hong Kong’s economic development, promoting prosperity and creating jobs. The airport is a vital element of the territory’s economic competitiveness. Inextricably linked to local life, the airport’s far reaching flight network places Hog Kong among the world’s top cities allowing its people to travel and work for pleasure, quickly and conveniently so that they can sample international delicacies at any time and enjoys the latest products from around the world. In the past 10 years, HKIA has been named the world’s best airport close to 40 times. The airport is famous for its operational excellence in areas including security, safety and environmental protection. Its outstanding operational performance makes it the pride of Hong Kong. In 2008, the aviation industry made direct, indirect ad induced economic contributions of HK$78 billion to Hong Kong, about 4.6% of the city’s GDP. Airport related jobs stood around 190,000 with 62,000 of them being direct employment.
The studies by experts forecast that by the year 2030 air traffic demand will reach about 97 million passengers, 8.9 million tons of cargo ad 602,000 flight movements per year. Even operating at maximum capacity, the airport’s dual runway system will not be sufficient for meeting air service needs up to 2030. Since 2008, the Airport Authority has engaged nine professional consulting teams to conduct studies on air traffic forecast, runway capacity, airport planning, engineering feasibility, preliminary environmental assessment, economic impact and financial viability analysis to compile the Hong Kong International Airport Master Plan 2030.
