AIR traffic controllers are to be told to work 11-hour shifts after a major overhaul of working conditions.
That is despite the recruitment of controllers to cope with growing traffic.
The changes fall short of British guidelines designed to reduce stress, but Civil Aviation Department officials say local factors must be considered.
Deputy Air Traffic General Manager Alex Au Kang-yuen said the vast majority of the conditions to be implemented conform to British standards.
However, parts of the British legislation on which the review was based would not be met despite 18 more controllers.
'We have a night curfew here. In the UK they don't. We have to adapt to the local environment,' said Mr Au. 'The stress is not the same. If you have no aircraft arriving and approaching at the airport you don't sit a controller there looking at the radar.' One of the main changes under the new roster will mean controllers work one night shift over five days instead of two over eight days, previously a common cause of concern among staff.