HONG KONG, 12 September 2024: A reconfigured Centre Runway flight check at Hong Kong International Airport (HKIA) was successfully completed earlier this week, marking a key milestone in declaring readiness for the three-runway operation.
A series of flight checks, which commenced in August 2024, was conducted collaboratively by the Airport Authority Hong Kong (AAHK), the Civil Aviation Department and the Flight Inspection Centre of the Civil Aviation Administration of China to ensure that related air navigation service equipment, flight procedures and airfield ground lighting system at the reconfigured Centre Runway fully comply with the standards of International Civil Aviation Organisation.
Following the commissioning of the North Runway in November 2022, the Centre Runway has been temporarily closed for reconfiguration as part of the Three-runway System (3RS) development. The reconfiguration works include relevelling of the runway pavement to tie in with connecting taxiways, constructing new runway entry and exit taxiways, building new wrap-around taxiways at both ends of the Centre Runway, and more. AAHK continues to target the commencement of operation with all three runways at HKIA before the end of this year as scheduled.
The 3RS will provide capacity for HKIA to meet the long-term air traffic demand of 120 million passengers and 10 million tonnes of cargo forecast for 2035, consolidating HKIA’s position as the leading aviation hub in the region.
At this crucial juncture of Hong Kong’s aviation development, HKIA’s leading position was again recognised at the World Travel Awards this year. The awards voted HKIA “Asia’s Leading Airport” for the fourth time since 2020 and “China’s Leading Airport” for the third year.
The World Travel Awards celebrate excellence across all key sectors of the travel, tourism and hospitality industries and are recognised globally as the hallmark of industry achievement. Winners are selected by travel industry specialists and passengers from around the world.
AAHK Acting Chief Executive Officer Vivian Cheung said: “We are proud to be honoured as ‘Asia’s Leading Airport’ and ‘China’s Leading Airport’ again amid intense regional competition. With the commencement of the three-runway operation before the end of the year, HKIA will continue to enhance its competitiveness to consolidate its position as the preeminent aviation hub in Asia and gateway to the Mainland China market.”
