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An Emirates A380 “superjumbo” aircraft, the world’s largest passenger airliner, prepares to land at the Hong Kong International Airport, in September 2017. Photo: Roy Issa
OpinionLetters

Hong Kong welcomes more wide-bodied aircraft than any other airport in top 100, and passengers always come first

Hong Kong International Airport
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We refer to the letter from Dave Corby (“If Hong Kong airport has a capacity problem, it only has itself to blame”, July 3), which argued that Hong Kong International Airport (HKIA) has been facing a capacity shortage because of the increase in smaller aircraft using the airport over the years.

The decision on whether to use wide-bodied or narrow-bodied aircraft is made by airlines, taking into consideration factors such as market demand and deployment of fleet and manpower. At HKIA, our role is to meet the needs of airlines by enhancing operational efficiency, with the common goal of benefiting passengers.

According to the latest figures published in the World Traffic Report by Airports Council International (ACI), as well as the airline schedules database of OAG, a global provider of digital flight information, the proportion of wide-bodied aircraft at HKIA was at 62.5 per cent in 2016, the highest among the world’s top 100 airports by passenger throughput.

Also, according to ACI, the Hong Kong airport is the world’s most efficient in terms of average number of workload units (WLU) per aircraft (one workload unit equals one passenger or 100kg of cargo), carrying 275.9 WLUs in 2016. It means that, on average, each aircraft at HKIA carries more passengers or cargo than anywhere else in the world.

That said, at HKIA we continue to further enhance operational efficiency through different means.


With regard to arrival baggage delivery, a number of initiatives are being implemented. For instance, an extra contractor has been hired recently to assist the ramp handling operators, with a view to ensuring sufficient manpower and efficient deployment of workers for one of the key steps in the arrival baggage delivery process.
The cost for implementing this new initiative is recovered from the operators, not by charging passengers. And to ensure that the operators have sufficient equipment for handling arrival flights at the parking stands, the Airport Authority has procured additional essential ground service equipment, to form a central pool for leasing to operators as a supplement to their own resources.

Please be assured that, at HKIA, we spare no effort in improving our service and providing passengers with a pleasant experience.

Steven Yiu, deputy director, Service Delivery, Airport Authority Hong Kong

This article appeared in the South China Morning Post print edition as: HK airport leads the pack in greeting wide-bodied planes, as passengers still come first
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