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If Hong Kong airport has a capacity problem, it only has itself to blame
I would like to comment on two recent news items relating to the Hong Kong International Airport at Chek Lap Kok (“Fourth runway for Hong Kong unlikely, airport chief says”, June 25 and “Airport restaurants urged to operate 24 hours a day in bid to make overnight travel more appetising”, May 3)
It has been said that the airport has reached capacity but that depends on how capacity is defined. It may be true that it can handle no more flights but that does not mean that it could not accommodate more passengers.
When the airport was planned and designed in the early 1990s, it was intended to accommodate mainly long-haul flights using wide-bodied aircraft. Provisions for single-aisle aircraft were minimal, if any.
The shortage of capacity is entirely of the Airport Authority’s own making, by its encouraging the proliferation of flights using single-aisle aircraft just to win the numbers game – the number of destinations served.
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However, I was pleased to see that they are trying to improve the baggage service, even if it will cost over a dollar per bag (“Hong Kong International Airport to introduce charge for putting luggage onto carousel”, June 29). The service has deteriorated over the past few years and I cannot recall the last time I got my bags in less than 45 minutes. Arriving at the midfield concourse almost guarantees a “bags delayed” notification at the carousel.
Dave Corby, Tuen Mun
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