Newsmakers
Hong Kong airport considering more slots to relieve congestion
December 1st 2015
In November, Airport Authority (AA) chief executive, Fred Lam Tin-fuk, told Hong Kong’s legislators the airport was considering increasing its aircraft movements from 68 to 70 an hour to relieve congestion at the two-runway airport. Read More » Lam said the AA also could increase the number of late night and early morning flights from the present rate of 37 an hour. Night time capacity would only be increased if a planned two year study proved new generation aircraft were quieter than present airliners, he said.
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“If we do not increase noise pollution, it is possible to add more air traffic movements at night? If that is possible we may solve half of the problems,” Lam said. Congestion at Hong Kong Airport and the largest Mainland airports is becoming so serious that several airlines, including Cathay Pacific Airways and Dragonair, are revising their networks to major Chinese cities to avoid chronic, daily delays. In the meantime, plans to build a third runway for Hong Kong are proceeding, despite some heated opposition from environmentalists and legislators concerned about the cost of the project. The new runway is scheduled to open in 2023.
