New | Guangzhou airport to edge out Hong Kong as dominant regional hub in ‘coming years’
Guangzhou’s Baiyun International Airport has recorded faster passenger volume growth in percentage terms than Hong Kong during the past decade
Hong Kong International Airport may be surpassed by Guangzhou’s airport in a few years in terms of passenger volume, according to a report from Hang Seng Management College.
Guangzhou’s Baiyun International Airport handled 60 million passengers last year, trailing Hong Kong’s 70 million passengers. But the passenger growth rates suggest it’s only a matter of time before Guangzhou, which ranks 15th globally, overtakes Hong Kong in the No 8 spot.
“Guangzhou is catching up Hong Kong and the gap in passenger volume is narrowing,” said Collin Wong Wai-hung, head of the department of supply chain and information management in Hang Seng Management College. “Guangzhou may surpass Hong Kong in the coming few years.”
Guangzhou’s passenger volume surged 120 per cent over the past decade, while Hong Kong’s passenger volume has risen 60 in the same period.
If the current growth trends continue, Wong predicts that Guangzhou will overtake Hong Kong’s regional lead in passenger volume.
Among obstacles facing Hong Kong are physical space constraints leading to traffic bottlenecks.
In 2015, the average arrival delay in Hong Kong was just over 20 minutes, while the departure flight queue averaged 7.79.
