‘Hong Kong airport can’t cope’: manpower crunch means delays for travellers, carriers can’t add flights, airline group warns
- Travel demand is up, but airline group says airport is handling more passengers than staff can cope with
- Airport is operating with 53,000 workers, about a third fewer than the 78,000 it had before the Covid-19 pandemic
The Board of Airline Representatives of Hong Kong (BAR), which includes more than 70 carriers, said the manpower woes were affecting the ability of carriers to reinstate flights and add capacity to meet strong demand from travellers.
Lam Hon-kei, its representative for North America, told the Post travel demand was expected to increase, but the airport was now dealing with more passengers than workers could handle.
“The knock-on impact is that people may see longer waiting times at check-in, and we may not be able to open so many check-in desks,” said Lam, who is part of Air Canada’s management.
The airport currently has 53,000 workers, about a third fewer than the 78,000 it had before the Covid-19 pandemic.
It handled 3.3 million passengers in June, just over half the 2019 level.
Lam said the staff shortages were across the board, affecting airlines and service providers – such as ground handling companies – operating at the airport.