Comment
Never enough in the insatiable Asia-Pacific
December 1st 2013
Airports across the region have announced a series of massive, multi-billion dollar investments in airports, terminals and runways as well as focusing - at last – on developing a more efficient and modern regional Asian Skies air traffic management network. Read More »
The burning questions are: is this significant investment sufficient keep up with the region’s rapid passenger growth? And will this welcome infrastructure investment be rolled out on a timetable that can match the region’s airline growth?
When the heads of the region’s airlines met in Hong Kong last month, for the 57th Assembly of Presidents of the Association of Asia Pacific Airlines (AAPA), it quickly became clear the answer might be no. AAPA director general, Andrew Herdman, said the Asia-Pacific is generally ahead of the game but “there are clear signs we are behind the curve” when it comes to aviation infrastructure.
Cases in point included Jakarta’s Soekarno Hatta airport, already operating at twice its design capacity as air traffic growth hits double digit pace. A new airport is planned for the country’ capital city, but it is years away from completion.
Hong Kong International Airport has a cap of 68 movements an hour and is operating close to the legal peak, at 65 arrivals and departures every 60 minutes. Saturation point is rapidly approaching as traffic forecasts made in 2009 run three years ahead of predicted growth. Yes, a new runway and terminal is planned for construction, but the project’s environmental impact study will not be completed until next year. If the all clear is given to the project, Hong Kong’s third runway will be finished in 2023!
In Mainland China, despite the unprecedented scale of new airport construction and expansion of completed facilities, there is severe congestion at the three major hubs: Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou, leading frequently to costly and intolerable delays of up to six to eight hours. China, like India and the Philippines, is recording 12% plus passenger traffic a year, which will double traffic every six years.
There is undoubtedly potential for crisis. Airlines can buy as many new planes as their finances can sustain in their desire for profitable growth, but if there are insufficient numbers of airport slots available and a shortage of space along airways for expanded networks, larger fleets will have a most disruptive impact on airline efficiency - at a time when airline profitability is difficult to achieve.
The region’s governments and airport authorities must understand that inadequate investment in aviation infrastructure will have serious economic repercussions for every country across the region. They must – now and not tomorrow – get the phrase “Fast Track” into their vocabularies and to the top of their “to do” aviation infrastructure list.
