Hong Kong eyes return of international aviation hub status

Hong Kong has pledged to reclaim its status as an international aviation hub, as it introduces a raft of measures to boost the recovery of passenger traffic at Hong Kong international airport (HKIA). In the city’s first annual budget speech since onerous zero-infection restrictions were scrapped, finance secretary Paul Chan says the Airport Authority Hong Kong, which operates HKIA, will roll out a series of initiatives, including reducing or waiving certain airport charges, as well as incentives for airlines to resume operations to Hong Kong. Hong Kong passenger traffic collapsed amid the pandemic, as the city hewed close to the ‘zero-Covid’ policy of Mainland China, resulting in its borders remaining mostly shut for more than two years. Once among the world’s busiest airport, HKIA saw passenger volumes shrink to a small fraction of pre-pandemic levels, as airlines began suspending flights, with some even completely exiting the market altogether. It was only around late-2022 that the city began easing restrictions, including scrapping mandatory quarantine. The move resulted in a rise in HKIA passenger numbers for January, up 28-fold to 2.1m. Chan, speaking on 22 February, adds that his government will press ahead with developing the HKIA area into an ‘Airport City’ – a “node of various economic activities with aviation as its core business”. The finance secretary adds that HKIA’s Three Runway System expansion project will be completed by end-2024. “HKIA will have its capacity substantially increased and its position as a regional multi-modal transportation hub further enhanced. <br/>