Hong Kong Airport

1.
231 Planning and Design of Airport System

Term Project
Case Study: Capacity Issues facing the

Hong Kong International Airport
Nitish Umang
Master of Science in Transportation Program
Civil Engineering Department
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
December 10, 2009

TableofContents
1.Introduction................................................................................................................3
1.1Background....................................................................................................3
1.2ConstructionandOperation4
1.3Competitionfromotherairports.6
1.3.1CompetitionfromAsianaviationhubs.6
1.3.2RapidgrowthofaviationindustryinmainlandChina.7
1.3.3CompetitionfromairportsinPRDregion7
2.AirsideCapacityConcerns...........................................................................................8
2.1CurrentIssuesfacingHKIA..................................................................................8
2.2Reductioninaircapacityduetochangeinaircraftmix..11

3.CapacityEnhancementMeasures................................................................................11
3.1Cooperationwithotherairports.........................................................................12
3.1.1ResolveairspaceissuesinPRDregion..................................................12
3.1.2CooperationwithmainlandandPRDairportstorelieveairtraffic......13
3.2Maximizethecapacityoftheexistingtworunways14
3.2.1AirTransportManagementApproach14
3.2.2EnhancedATCproceduresandmanpower.14
3.2.3ExpansionofAuxiliaryAirsideFacilities15
3.2.4PeakSpreading15
3.2.5AircraftSizeRestrictions..16
3.3Constructionofathirdrunway16
3.3.1Criticalityoftimingofconstruction..17
3.3.2EnvironmentalImpactAssessment18
3.3.3EconomicImpactAssessment..20
3.3.3.1EstimationofgeneratedrevenuetoHKIA.20
3.3.3.2OtherAssociatedCosts23

4.Conclusions.24
References.26
1. Introduction
1.1Background
HongKongInternationalAirport(HKIA),colloquiallyknownasChekLapKokAirportisthemain
airportinHongKong,People'sRepublicofChina.ItisoperatedbytheAirportAuthorityHong
Kong (AAHK). The airport was built on the island of Chek Lap Kok by land reclamation and
openedforcommercialoperationsin1998,replacingitspredecessorKaiTak.Inrecentyears,
Hong Kongs air transport industry has benefited directly from the rapid growth of the Asia
Pacific and Chinese markets, and is now an important regional transshipment centre,
passengerhubandgatewayfordestinationsinmainlandChina,withover40destinationsand
therestofAsia.Theairporthasbeengainingexcellentreputationfromtheaviationindustry
and travelers worldwide since its early days of operation. Despite a relatively short history,
Hong Kong International Airport has already won seven Skytrax World Airport Awards in just
tenyears[8].
HKIA also operates one of the world's largest passenger terminal buildings and operates
twentyfourhoursaday.ItistheprimaryhubforseveralcarrierssuchasCathayPacific,Dragon
Air,HongKongExpressAirways,HongKongAirlines,AirHongKong (cargo)andAsiaJet (private),
withflightsfrom90airlinesinoperationtoover150citiesacrosstheglobe.In2008,itwasthe
4thand12thbusiestairportworldwideintermsofinternationalandtotalpassengerthroughput
respectively,registeringatotalof48.6millionpassengers[9].Intermsofcargotraffic,itwas
the second busiest airport in the world, handling 3.6 million tons of cargo. HKIA is also an
important contributor to the Hong Kong economy, with over 60,000 people employed at the
airport.[9]

Figure1:TenBusiestAirportsin2008intermsofInternationalPassengerThroughput[5]
1.2ConstructionandOperation
Hong Kong International Airport was built on alarge artificial island, formed by leveling Chek
LapKokandLamChauislands(3.02kmand0.08kmrespectively),andreclaiming9.38kmof
theadjacentseabed.The12.48kmairportsiteaddednearly1%toHongKong'stotalsurface
area,connectingtothenorthsideofLantauIslandnearTungChungnewtown.[8]Theairportis
operated by the Airport Authority Hong Kong, a statutory body wholly owned by the
Government of Hong Kong Special Administrative Region. The provision of air traffic control
servicesandtheregulationofgeneralcivilaviationactivitiesiscontrolledbytheCivilAviation
Department(CAD).
HKIAconsistoftwoindependentparallelrunways,withaseparationof1,525mandoperating
current capacity of 58 movements/hour. Due to the mountainous terrain near the South
Runway,itismainlyusedfortakeoff,whiletheNorthRunwayisusedprimarilyforlandings.
The ultimate capacity of the two runways i.e. the maximum expected number of movements
that can be performed in one hour of a runway system without violating air transport
management (ATM) rules, assuming continuous aircraft demand is estimated at 60 aircraft
movement/hour[HKSAR,2007].Howeverbecauseoftheidealization,thisultimatecapacityis
unlikelytobeachievableconsistentlyindaytodayoperations.

Figure1.HongKongInternationalAirportAirfield[2]
Boththerunways,are3800metresinlengthand60metreswide,enablingthemtocatertothe
nextgenerationofaircraft.ThesouthrunwayhasbeengivenaCategoryIIPrecisionApproach,
whilethenorthrunwayhasthehigherCategoryIIIArating,whichallowspilotstolandinonly
200 metre visibility. At present there are 49 frontal stands, 28 remote stands and 25 cargo
stands.FiveparkingbaysattheNorthwestConcoursearealreadycapableofaccommodating
thearrivalsofthenextgenerationofaircraft.Asatelliteconcoursewith10frontalstandsfor
narrow body aircraft is under construction to the north of the main concourse for
commissioningbytheendof2009,bringingthetotalnumberoffrontalstandsattheairportto
59.[8]

Figure2.Apronarea:HKIAfromoutside[6]
The operation of scheduled air services to and from Hong Kong is facilitated by air services
agreements between Hong Kong and other countries. Since the opening of HKIA, the Hong
Kong Special Administrative Region Government has implemented a policy of progressive
liberalisationofairserviceswiththeintentionofpromotingconsumerchoiceandcompetition.
Many lowcost airlines have started various regional routes to compete headon with full
servicecarriersontrunkroutes.
Despiteitssize,thepassengerterminalisdesignedformaximumconvenience.Asimplelayout
andeffectivesignage,movingwalkwaysandtheautomatedpeoplemoverallowquickandeasy
movement throughout the building. Facilities for the disabled are in keeping with world
requirements.Theairportisalsoservedbyacompletetransportsystemoperationalfromthe
verybeginning.[9]
Figure3.TheinteriorofTerminal1atnighttime,HongKongInternationalAirport.[6]

QualityramphandlingservicesareprovidedbyHongKongAirportServicesLimited,JardineAir
TerminalServicesLimited,andMenziesAviationGroup(HongKong)Limited.Theairportalso
has an advanced baggage handling system (BHS), the main section of which is located in the
basement level of the passenger terminal, and a separate remote transfer facility at the
western end of the main concourse for handling of tight connection transfer bags. The BHS
processes departure, arrival and transfer bags and utilises a conveyor of more than 24
kilometres long. Majority of the arrival bags are conveyed to 12 reclaim carousels within 20
minutesfromaircraftlandingcarouselswithin20minutesfromaircraftlanding.
Figure4.BaggageClaimArea[6]
1.3Competitionfromotherairports
DespitethestronggrowthoftheaviationindustryintheAsiaPacificandChinesemarkets,Hong
Kong faces fierce competition from the big Asian aviation hubs, its regional neighbours in
mainlandChinaandevenwithinthesamecatchmentarea(thePearlRiverDeltaRegion,PRD).
Asaresult,airspaceandgroundcongestionhavebothbecomemoreseriousovertime.
1.3.1CompetitionfromAsianaviationhubs
TherateofgrowthoftheaviationindustryinAsiaismuchhigherthanthatinthemoremature
markets of Europe and North America. Airports such as the Seoul Incheon Airport, Bangkok
Suvarnabhumi Airport, Singapore Changi Airport, Tokyo Narita Airport, Taipei Taoyun Airport
and Kuala Lumpur Airport are all major international hubs and competing directly with Hong
Kong for both passenger and cargo traffic. All these airports are seriously considering the
expansionoftheirairportinfrastructurestocapturetheanticipatedgrowthofdemandinthe
region.Forexample,SeoulIncheonAirportandKualaLumpurAirportarebothhavingthethird
runway under the planning stage, while Singapore Changi Airport opened a new low cost
terminalinMarch2006,besidesextensivelyupgradingTerminal2costingS$240million.[1]
1.3.2RapidgrowthofaviationindustryinmainlandChina
For Hong Kong, airports in Mainland China also generate significant competition. All the Big
Three airports in China: Shanghai Pudong, Beijing Capital, Guangzhou Baiyun have invested
hugesumsofmoneytoconstructnewpassengerterminals,runwaysandupgradeandexpand
theirexistinginfrastructureintherecentpast.

Figure5.TenbusiestairportsinmainlandChinaintermsofpassengerthroughputin2008[5]
GiventherapidgrowthandsizeoftheChineseeconomy,Chinawillsignificantlyinfluenceand
shape the pattern of airline networks in Asia and linkages with other continents. Hong Kong,
being a Special Administrative Region of China, has obvious advantages over regional
competitors such as Singapore and Taipei to expand into the China market. [1] However, at
present,oneofthedifficultiesthatChinaisfacingisinsufficientrunwaysforapopulationof1.3
billion.AccordingtoCivilAviationAdministrationofChina(CAAC),thereareonly147airports
forcivilaircrafttoservethispopulation[CAAC,2007],whichcomparesveryunfavorablywith
developed countries such as the US, which has 14,807 airports serving a country with 270
millionpeople[1].Hugeinfrastructureinvestmentsweremadeinboththe10thandthecurrent
11thFiveYearPlan(20052010),andsome190civilairportsareexpectedtobeinoperationby
2010inChina[1],andthenumberexpectedtofurtherincreaseto220by2020[1].However,
despitetheseexpansionefforts,itisanticipatedthatdemandwillcontinuetooutpacesupplyin
China.
1.3.3CompetitionfromairportsinPRDregion
AllthefivePRDairportsaregrowingatanastonishingratewithpassengergrowthatanannual
rate exceeding more than 5%, and Shenzhen having an average annual growth rate of nearly
15% between 2000 and 2006. HKIA aircraft movements have been growing at 6.7%, much
higherthantheoriginalofficialforecastof3%.InfactallthePRDairportsexceptZhuhaihave
experiencedhighergrowthratethanHongKong.Byassuminggrowthratesasobservedinpast
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historical data for other airports, and including the case where HKIA grows at the AAHK
predicted rate of 3%, the aircraft movements at Shenzhen and Guangzhou airports are
expected to surpass HKIA by 2009 and 2011 respectively, and by 2014/15 using past growth
rateof6.7%forHongKong.[1]

Figure6.ProjectedAircraftMovementGrowthofthePRDAirports[1]

2. AirsideCapacityConcerns
2.1CurrentIssuesfacingHKIA
Since the opening of the Hong Kong International Airport (HKIA) in 1998, actual air traffic
volume at HKIA has grown tremendously to reach a total of 301,000 aircraft movements in
2008, which well exceed the 202 200 movements forecast for 2005 in the 1991 New Airport
Master Plan. With regards to passenger movements, at the time of its opening the airport
capacitywasforecasttobe87millionpassengersperyeartobereachedin203040,basedona
forecast of 348 passengers per movement by 2040 . However, over the years, with the rapid
growthofdomestictrafficinChinaandincreasedhubbingoperations,theaverageaircraftsize
hasdeclinedrapidlysince1998from295seatspermovementto240seatspermovementin
2007,[2]whichhasresultedinareductioninthecapacityoftheairportwhichisnowestimated
at 55 60 million. In 2008 itself, the airport handled about 48.6 million passengers. Thus,
although the airport was originally designed with a maximum capacity of over 80 milllion
passengers,theimbalanceintheoperationalcapacitiesoflandsideandairsidefacilitiesatHKIA
hasledtocongestionateventhecurrentlevelsofairtraffic,whichgivesaclearindicationthat
the airportwill run out of capacity at some point in time in the nottoodistant future. As an
example, shown below is a typical weekly schedule of the runways at HKIA in summer 2006,
whichindicatesthesaturationofitsairsidecapacity.

Fig7.AtypicalweekinSummer2006,thetableontheleftclearlyshowshowbusytherunwaysareduringthe
season[1]
To cope with the increasing air traffic demand and competition, the Airport Authority Hong
Kong (AAHK) published a report HKIA 2025 in December 2006: a master plan outlining the
airport potential plan to meet the future demand. The plan suggested constructing a third
parallelrunwaywitharound1kmseparationfromthecurrentnorthrunway,besidesproposing
a HK$ 4.5 billion investment programme which enhance the exisiting Passenger Terminal
Building and construction of a new satellite concourse for smaller aircraft. According to The
BasicLaw(Chapter5Economy,Section4CivilAviation,Article128),TheGovernmentofHong
Kong Special Administrative Region shall provide conditions and take measures for
maintenanceofthestatusofHongKongasthecentreofinternationalandregionalaviation
[HKSAR,2007].Thus,HKIAandtheHKSARGovernmentmustaddresscapacityconstraintsboth
onthegroundandintheairintheshorttermandlongterm,inordertosustainHongKongs
positionasaninternationalaviationhub.
2008 2025
PassengerThroughput 48.6million 80million
CargoThroughput 3.6milliontonnes 8milliontonnes
AircraftMovements 301,000+ 490,000
Table1.ProjectionofairtrafficattheHongKongInternationalAirportasperHKIA2025
Table1comparesthecurrentannualtrafficfigurestothenumbersprojectedforyear2025as
perHKIA2025.Thereportforecaststhatby2025,80millionpassengers,8milliontonnesof
cargoand490,000annualaircraftmovementswillbeachieved[AAHK,2006],equivalenttoan
averageannualgrowthrateofabout3%forbothpassengersandaircraftmovements,whichis
much lower than the actual observed past growth rate of 6.7% for aircraft movements and
5.4%growthforpassengertrafficforHongKong,ascanbeseeninthedatabelow.
Passengers AircraftMovements
Year (000) (000) Cargo(000Tonnes)
1999 30394 167.4 1974.3
2000 33374 181.9 2240.6
2001 33065 196.8 2074.3
2002 34313 206.7 2479.0
2003 27433 187.5 2642.1
2004 37142 237.3 3093.9
2005 40740 263.5 3402.0
2006 44443 280.4 3580.0
2007 47783 295.6 3742.0
2008 48585 301.0 3627.0
%growth(inlast10years) 5.4% 6.7% 7.0%
Table2:AirtrafficstatisticsatHongKongInternationalAirportforlast10years
Thecurrentcapacityofthetworunwaysisaround58movementsperhourduringpeakhours,
which is still below the ultimate capacity estimated by the government [HKSAR, 2007] to be
around60movementsperhours.Withthisforecastgrowthof3%andultimatecapacitygiven
bytheGovernment,wecanattempttoestimatewhenthisultimatecapacitywillbeexceeded.
Duetothedynamicnatureofcapacity,anexactvalueforthisultimatecapacityisnotgiven(as
indicated by the Government as over 60 movements/hour). Assuming the current ultimate
capacitytobe65movementsperhour,whichisthehighestrecordedaircrafthourlymovement
of HKIA according to CAD,[1] the time for saturation of airside capacity is estimated to be
around2013ascanbeseenintheplotbelow.
10

Figure8.HKIAaircraftmovementforecast[1]
2.2Reductioninaircapacityduetochangeinaircraftmix
Inrecentyears,HKIAhasbeenexperiencingamorenonhomogenousaircraftmix.Theuseof
private and corporate jets is on the increase, resulting in a growing number of narrowbody
operations. The share of the narrowbody shorthaul aircraft such as the Airbus A320 and
Boeing737hasrisenmuchabovetheinitialpredictedvalueof10%ofthetotaltraffic[1].Data
shows that the average seats per passenger aircraft at HKIA has dropped from 295 seats in
Summer 1998 to less than 250 seats in Summer 2006 [2]. Together with the growth of the
existing large aircraft operations by the longestablished carriers, the introduction of A380,
expanding LCCs and increasing number of private business jets in the region, the slot
constraintsatHKIAhavefurtherworsenedandledtofurtherairsidecapacityreduction,andas
discussedbefore,theonceestimatedcapacityof87millionpassengersnowstandsatonly55
60million.[2]

3. CapacityEnhancementmeasures

Fromtheabovediscussion,itisclearthatHongKongInternationalAirportwilleventuallyreach
its ultimate capacity and thus suitable enhancement measures need to be implemented to
expand its capacity to some extent during the interim period. The airport capacity can be
enhancedinthefollowingthreeways:
Cooperationwithotherairports
Maximizethecapacityofthetwoexistingrunways
Constructionofathirdrunway
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In this study, we attempt to study the feasibility of all possible measures and examine the
operationalandenvironmentalissues,aswellasassesstheeconomicimpactofbuildingathird
runway.
3.1Cooperationwithotherairports
3.1.1ResolveairspaceissuesinPRDregion

Figure9.TheairspacesandairportrunwaylayoutsofPearlDeltaRiverRegion.SIERAistheStandardTerminal
Arrival(STAR)reportingpointandBEKOListheStandardInstrumentDeparture(SID)reportingpointforHong
KongInternationalAirport[7]
TherestructuringofPRDairspacecanallowHKIAtohandlemoreflightsandthereforefurther
enhanceitsrunwaycapacity.ThePearlRiverDelta(PRD)regioninSouthernChinaconsistsofa
multiairportssystemwhichincludesfivemajorairports:GuangzhouNewBaiyunInternational
Airport, Hong Kong Hong Kong International Airport (HKIA), Macau International Airport,
Shenzhen Baoan International Airport and Zhuhai Airport. All these airports, especially
Guangzhou, Hong Kong and Shenzhen have been facing serious capacity constraint and
congestion in recent years. Their proximity and respective airspace arrangements create
tremendous operational complexities, with the variations in runways orientations (conflicting
traffic)ateachairportrenderingtheairspaceissuesevenmorecomplicated.Accordingtothe
forecast by CAAC, the PRD region will experience around 200 million passenger with 1.76
million aircraft movement per annum by 2020. The airports in the PRD have altogether 7
runways, with considerations to add 4 to 5 more in the foreseeable future. However, more
runwayswillnothelpinenhancingthecapacityunlesstheairspacecongestionissueissolved.
Furthermore,themilitaryplaysasignificantroleinthearrangementofairspaceinChinaand.
anychangeinthecivilairspacerequirestheapprovalofthemilitary..Alltheselimitationshas
12
significantly reduced the flight operational efficiency and capacity in the rapid growing PRD
region.HongKongislocatedattheSouthernmostofthePRDregion.AircrafttoandfromHKIA
are required by the Chinese aviation authority to cross the Hong Kong and Zhuhai airspace
boundaryatahighaltitude(15,000ftorabout5,000m).Thepurposeofthisisforminimizing
theimpactoftheaircraftmovementto/fromtheotherfourairportsfromthetrafficto/from
HKIA.ThisheightrestrictionformsasocalledinvisiblewallbetweenHongKongandmainland
China, owing to which aircrafts leaving from HKIA are required to circulate in the Hong Kong
airspacetogainsufficientaltitudetoclimboverthewall,whichleadstounnecessaryflighttime
andfuelconsumption.TheextrafuelcostduetotheinvisiblewallforHongKongalonewas
estimated to be over HK$600 million in 2006.[7] To alleviate the air traffic demand, the
MainlandChineseauthorityrecentlyloweredthealtituderequirementforaircraftenteringand
leaving the Mainland airspace from 11pm to 7am each day (that could save 40 nm flight
distance and 7 minutes flight time per flight), however the savings would be modest as the
numberofflightsduringthosehoursisrathersmall.Thus,despitetheeffort,thePRDairspace
usageisstillveryconstrained.InternationalAirTransportAssociation(IATA)hasestimatedthat
anextra1520%operatingcapacitycouldbeprovidedtothePRDregionbyrestructuringthe
airspace[1].Thiscallsforallinvolvedpartiestoworkinclosecooperationwitheachotherto
optimize the use of the PRD airspace. Infact, a Tripartite Working Group consisting of the
General Administration of Civil Aviation of China (CAAC), the Hong Kong Civil Aviation
Department(HongKongCAD)andtheCivilAviationAuthorityMacau(CAAMacau)wassetup
in February 2004, to resolve this issue, and aims to establish a seamless coordinated ATC
system that would be able to cope with the PRD air traffic by 2020. [10] With foreseeable
growth in both future passenger and cargo flow, there is great urgency for appropriate
modificationsintheairspacestructureandflightprocedurestobeimplemented.
3.1.2CooperationwithmainlandandPRDairportstorelieveairtraffic
HongKongAirportAuthorityshouldalsocooperatewithotherairportsinthemainlandandPRD
region to relieve its air traffic. In fact Hong Kong Airport Authority (HKAA) is already a
shareholderoftheShenzhenairport,whichhasanapproximatetouristthroughputof7million
peryear.Talksareunderwaytopracticedivisionoflabourbetweenthetwoairports,andwhile
HongKongwillprimarilyfocusoninternationalflights,Shenzhenmayactasaregionalairport
for domestic operations. The Guangzhou Baiyun Airport has also shown a certain level of
collaborationwithShenzhenandHongKongairports.ShenzhenhasopenedaterminalinHong
KongandstartedaShenzhenHongKongexpressservice,whileHongKonghasopenedseveral
crossborder express shipping services and joint logistic networks in Shenzhen and parts of
Guangdongprovince.[11]Afterseveralyearsofrapiddevelopment,HKIAhasbecomeawareof
its limited capacity and its overreliance on the hinterlands economy, and is now trying to
expanditsmarketandnetworkinthehinterland,usingitsextensiveinternationalnetworkand
thedomesticnetworksofShenzhenandGuangzhouBaiyunairports.Inthe2030MasterPlanof
HKIA, the Hong Kong Airport Authority is looking at strengthening its integrated,multimodal
transport network with the Mainland, especially the PRD to enhance the connectivity of the
HKIAwiththetheseotherairports.TheGovernmentisundertakingseveralinitiativessuchas
the Hong KongZhuhaiMacao Bridge which includes the Hong Kong Boundary Crossing
Facilities (HKBCF), and the Tuen MunChek Lap Kok Link. In conjunction with the Shenzhen
13
Municipal Government, the Hong Kong SAR Government is also studying the feasibility of
building an airport rail link (ARL) between HKIA and Shenzhen International Airport. Such
coordinateddevelopmentofthePRDregioncanhelprelieveairtrafficatHKIAbesidespossibly
enhancingitsowncapacity.
3.2Maximizethecapacityoftheexistingtworunways
3.2.1AirTransportManagementApproach
ATMenhancementisabouthowtherunwaysataparticularairportcouldbeoperatedinorder
togivethemaximumpossiblecapacity.Duetothemountainousterrainnearthesouthrunway
of HKIA, the south runway is mainly used for takeoff, while the North Runway is used for
landing.However,itmaybepossibletoenhancethecapacityoftheairporttosomeextentby
switching to mixed mode runway operations, that is, rather than using one of two parallel
runways only for landings and the other for takeoffs, it is possible to feed some takeoffs
between landings, and vice versa. Singlemode operations are usually conducted to cut noise
around the airport and can simplify traffic patterns to separate approaching and departing
aircraft. The advantage of mixed mode is that it can reduce potential wake vortex problems
and speeds up the overall flow rate, thus enhancing the overall airside capacity. Thus, if the
numberofdeparturesaresignificantlymorethanthenumberofarrivals,theaircraftscantake
off from both runways instead of lining up on a single runway. Thus, both runways could be
usedforbothtakeoffandlandingatdifferenttimes.TherunwaysatHKIAarefarapartenough
forfullindependentmixedmode.However,thetwoconstrainingfactorsarehighgroundand
messypolitics.ThehighgroundisonLantauIsland,adjoiningtheairport,whichblockstheair
corridorstousethesouthrunwayforlandings,andthepoliticscomprisetheborderwithChina.
There is no scope for mixed modewithout a revised airspace with both Macau and China. In
factaPearlRiverDeltaworkinggroupisalreadysetupbetweenHongKongandthemainland
to try to resolve some of the airspace problems involving both sides, and a possible deal is
believedtobeintheworks.
3.2.2EnhancedATCproceduresandmanpower
Technology and human factors also play a decisive role in airport capacity improvement. Air
traffic controllers in Hong Kong are generally considered highly skilled professionals and they
formthecoreelementoftheATMsystem.However,asperstudiesconductedbytheNational
AirTrafficServicesinUKoftheHongKongairspace,HKIAneedstoseriouslyconsiderchanging
itsATCoperatingphilosophy.Currently,theairtrafficcontrollersareofferedahighdegreeof
flexibilityinhandlingaircraftmovementsforamoreliberaluseofairspace.Whilethecurrent
operations can meet the existing traffic demand, CAD should adopt a more systemized and
standardized approach in its ATC operations with a view to enhancing and sustaining its air
traffic handling capacity in the long term. It also recommended creating additional control
positions in both the terminal and enroute areas within the Hong Kong Flight Information
Regiontohandletheexpectedtrafficincreaseandalsoestablishanewpositionforairtraffic
flow and capacity management, to enhance the existing local flow control arrangement by
monitoringandtakingintoaccountthetacticalandstrategicflowmanagementarrangements
inthePRDregion.AnotherimportantrecommendationwastoenhancetheATCstaffstrength
14
and sickness cover in order to cater for a higher traffic load, extended operating hours and
sicknessreplacement.WiththeuseofmodernATC/ATMequipmentandadvancednavigation
aids,airtrafficcontrollerscanprovidemoretimely,effectiveandaccuratecommunicationwith
pilots.Tocopewithcapacityconstraintsatmajorairports,ATMsintheUSandAustraliahave
introducednewtechnologysuchastheAutomaticDependentSurveillanceBroadcast(ADSB).
TheADSBallowsairtrafficcontrollerstoreduceseparationinincreasinglycrowdedskies.ADS
Bdiffersfromconventionalradarin30thatituseselectronicequipmentonboardanaircraftto
automatically broadcast position, altitude, velocity and other data every second via digital
datalink using a navigation system like GPS. In future, ADSB data will also be used by other
aircraft and controllers to show an aircrafts position and altitude on display screens without
theneedforextensiveradarcoverage.RegardingtheinfluenceofterrainonHKIAcapacity,this
issue can partly be mitigated via more advanced air navigation procedures such as the Area
Navigation(RNAV)andRequiredNavigationPerformance(RNP).ThenewRNAV/RNPnavigation
procedures using GPS can reduce the air congestion and flight distance without the use of
groundbeaconsandadoptsatellitebasedcommunicationsinstead.[1]TheHKSARGovernment
hasdecidedtoinvestHK$1.56billioninanewATMsystemscheduletocomeonlinein2012.At
the same time, CAD has also begun looking at the options of satellitebased navigation aids
(navaids). According to studies, for the case of Hong Kong, the ATC improvements being
considered by CAD, together with the help of extra manpower, can potentially provide an
extrarunwaycapacityofaround10%.[1]
3.2.3ExpansionofAuxiliaryAirsideFacilities
The location of runway exits plays a very significant role in runway capacity. There are two
maintypesofrunwayexits:ConventionalandHighSpeedexits.Aconventionalexitformsa90
anglewiththerunwayandrequirespilotstoslowdowntheaircraftconsiderably(to10ktsor
18km/h)tomakethetightturn.[1]Ontheotherhand,ahighspeedexitishavinganinclined
layoutalongtherunwaysdirection.Thispermitstheaircrafttovacatetherunwayrapidly,at
speeds up to (50 kts or 92 km/h), by making a relatively high speed and smooth turn. [9]
Therefore,ifmixedmodeisuseditwouldhelputilizingtherunwaymovementbyallowingthe
landing aircraft to vacate more quickly and hence expediting the next departure. Regarding
taxiways,delayscanariseduetoinefficienttaxiingpatterns.TaxiwaylayoutdesignsforHKIAis
basedontheprincipleofunidirectionalflowmanagementfortheachievementofminimizing
taxiwayconflictsanddelays.However,oftenthedeparturequeuecausesseveredelaysatHKIA
and thus mixedmode operation may alleviate the problem by diverting some aircraft to the
other runway. The apron area can also occasionally be a constraining factor on the overall
airside capacity. This points to the need for overall planning and optimization of the various
elementsontheairsidesoastomaximizetheoperationalcapacityoftheairsidesystemunder
varyingconditionswhichtheairportmaybesubjectedto.
3.2.4PeakSpreading
Peak spreading refers to the process of reducing a proportion of traffic demand in the most
severelycongestedorcriticalpartofthepeakperiodwithcorrespondingincreasesindemand
at time periods immediately before and after the critical peak. [14] This leads to a general
flatteningofthetraveldemandprofileacrossabroadertimeperiod.Thus,byspreadingsome
15
ofthedemandfromthepeakperiodofthedaytoalessbusyperiod,airportcapacitycanbe
improved. However, peak spreading is easier said than done, as it involves the convoluted
considerationofoptimizationsoftheindividualairlinesschedulesandinterests.Airlinesdesign
their flight schedules with the dual objective of meeting their market demands and optimize
theirfleetutilization.Thus,theywouldaimatchoosingslotsofaparticulartimeofthedayto
offer the best travel services for customers and balance resource utilization within its service
network. At Hong Kong International Airport, the peak period occurs from 07:00 to 20:00 in
summer.Duringthisperiod,airportslotsarebasicallyfull(forbothdepartureandarrivals),and
thesituationisparticularlyworseonTuesdayandFriday.[1]Airlines,especiallyhubandspokes
legacy carriers which heavily depend on smooth and accurate transits from one flight to
anotherontheirnetworksaregenerallyreluctanttoreorganizetheirflightschedules,asthis
willbringinefficienciestotheairlinesoperationandcansignificantlyaffectsthebottomlineof
their company. However, this approach may be applicable with less technical difficulty to
freighter flights which usually operate on a 24hour basis. The slot requests of LCCs and
charteredservicescanalsobemoreflexible.
3.2.5AircraftSizeRestrictions
Ingeneral,thesmallertheaircraftrelativetotheprecedingaircraft,themoreseverewouldbe
the impact of the wake vortice effects, thus requiring more separation distance between the
aircraft. Using similar size aircraft, or larger/widebody type aircraft would minimize the
required separation distance and enhance runway movement capacity. However in practice,
theselectionofaircrafttypeismainlydictatedbytheoperationalcharacteristicsoftheaircraft
for the routes to be flown, market demands, and economics. Because of numbers of seats
provided,widebodyaircraftwouldhavelowerseatkilometrecoststhanasmallnarrowbody
aircraft.Itwillalsohaveahigheroperatinghourlycostthanasmalleraircraftduetoitslarge
size.Henceitwouldoftenformaquestionfortheairlinemanagementonchoosingtheaircraft
withlowerseatkilometrecostsortheonewiththelowertripcosts.Theflexibilityandservices
tothepassengersisalsoanimportantconsideration.Therefore,itisveryunlikelythatanairline
will choose a B747400 Jumbo for shorthaul and lowcapacity routes, as compared with an
A320orB737.Ontheotherhand,thisapproachmightbepossibletoimposeonhighcapacity
shorthaulroutessuchastheHongKongTaipeiroute.Thus,thisapproachtoimproverunway
capacity will likely be limited to avery smallamount of routes and airlines, whileit is almost
impossibletoimposesuchanapproachonshorthaullowcostcarriers(LCCs)
According to studies, taking into account the effects of airspace issues and terrain, the
runway capacity is expected to improve by 12% through mixedmode. Thus, if all possible
ATM (Air Traffic Management) and ATC (Air Traffic Control) enhancement measures are
implemented,the"ultimatecapacity"oftheparallelrunwaysofHKIAisestimatedtobe80
movementsperhourunderthemostidealsituation.
3.3Constructionofathirdrunway
Aproposaltobuildathirdrunwayattheairporttoenhanceitsairsidecapacityhasalsobeen
under feasibility study and consultation. The construction of the runway would be very
expensiveasitwouldinvolveadditionalreclamationfromdeepwaters,andthebuildingcostof
16
may be as high as the building cost of the entire airport. [8] Besides the huge cost of
construction,concernsregardingenvironmentalprotectionandreclamationarealsoimportant
factors to be addressed. The Aviation Policy and Research Center (APRC) at The Chinese
UniversityofHongKonghascarriedoutastudytoevaluatetheimportanceofthethirdrunway
and to estimate the timing when this third runway should be ready so as to prevent
significantimpairmenttotheHongKongeconomyduetodelayoftheproject.Inthisstudy,we
attempt to look at the possible time schedule for the planning & construction of the third
runway,andassesstheenvironmentalandeconomicimpactofbuildingtherunway.
3.3.1Criticalityoftimingofconstruction
As discussed in the previous section, it may be theoretically possible to achieve a maximum
runway capacity of 80 movements per hour by implementation of various ATM and ATC
enhancementmeasures.

Figure10.ProposedscheduleforHKIAThirdRunwayDevelopmentunder5%Growth[1]
17
Based on the past experiences of building runways for international airports and the current
prevailingpoliticalandsocialenvironmentinHongKong,itcantakeeasilytakeupto10years
or even more to build a new runway. This would include 2 years for detailed planning and
design, another 45 years for public consultation, undertaking environmental impact
assessment (EIA), arrange funding and the possibilities of legal challenges from the public,
followedbyanother45moreyearsfortheactualconstructionuntilcompletion.[1]Given,the
conservativeforecastof3%forannualgrowthofairtraffic,asestimatedbyHKIA,theultimate
capacity of 80 movements per hour can be expected to reach by around 2019, to be shown
later.However,giventhepastgrowthofairtrafficatamuchhigherrateofaround6.7%,traffic
growth rate of 5% seems a more reasonable assumption. Under this scenario, the ultimate
capacity will reach around 2015, that is much before the completion of construction of the
runway,whichasoftoday,isstillunderfeasibilitystudies.Thus,assumingHKIAiscommittedto
the third runway at this point in time, HKIA will still suffer at least 4 to 7 years of saturation
whilepotentiallylosingbusinessandmarketsharetoalternativeairportsintheregion.Shown
inFig.10istheproposedscheduleforHKIAThirdRunwayDevelopmentunder5%Growth.
3.3.2EnvironmentalImpactAssessment
One of the most significant obstacles to the consideration of the third runway for HKIA is its
impact on the environment. With the increase in the awareness of environmental issues
affecting our daily life, this has often been the stumbling block for most major infrastructure
projects. The environmental impact assessment of the proposed runway needs to be carried
outinaccordancewiththeEnvironmentalImpactAssessmentOrdinance(EIAO)whichincludes
detailedassessmentofthemajorenvironmentalissuestoensurecompliancetotheregulation.
Wewillexamineeachofthethreemajorenvironmentalissuesofnoise,airandwaterqualityin
thefollowingsections:
Noise:Enhancedairportcapacityinevitablymeansmoreaircraftmovementsandmorenoise.
Impacts could range from impaired hearing to psychological annoyances. Though, the effects
could be mitigated through the reduction of aircraft noise at the source, community noise
insulation projects and other such procedures, effective communication between the
communityandairportoperatorisalwaysofcrucialimportanceinairportplanning.However,in
thecaseofHKIA,sinceitislocatedinamuchmoreremotelocationawayfromthemajorurban
areas, and the fact that AAHK was very successful in managing its environmental impact and
gainedtremendousexperienceduringtheinitialphaseoftheHKIAplanningandconstruction,it
is reasonable to believe that the construction and operation of the third runway will not
present any significant new challenge to the airport authority in managing the noise and its
impact.
Emissions : Aircraft produce emissions of carbon dioxide, carbon monoxide, nitrogen oxide,
sulphur oxide, and other hydrocarbons. Many of these emissions are considered greenhouse
gases which affects climate and contributes to global warming. Although the total amount of
emissionisrelativelysmall,estimatedtobearound2%ofallgreenhousegasemissions[1],the
18
emission of such gases at high altitude greatly magnifies its greenhouse gas effects. It is also
anticipatedthatthegrowthofaviationtrafficinthecomingdecadeswillbringaboutsignificant
increases of such emissions from aircraft, despite potential technological advances in fuel
efficiency. Given the growing public awareness of global warming and the resulting potential
devastatingscenariosforhumankind,publicconcernandtheirperceptiononthemagnitudeof
the problem on theenvironmental threat from aircraftemissions has been growing in recent
years.Groundtransporttotheairport,aircraftemissionsandgroundactivityarealsoemission
sourcesattheairport.Besidetheglobalwarmingeffect,aircraftemissionsandnoisecouldalso
beperceivedtoaffectthecommunityshealtharoundtheairportarea.Thisisamoresensitive
issuewhichthethirdrunwayproposalmustadequatelyaddressinordertominimizethedelays
whichcanresultfromprolongedinquiriesandunnecessarybadpublicityfrompublicoutcry.
MarineEcology:Waterpollutionatairportscanoccurforanumberofdifferentreasons,from
domesticsewage,airportrelatedeffluentsandconstructionerosion.Thewaterpollutionissue
isespeciallyimportantforHongKongscaseasmassivelandreclamationwillbeinvolved.One
of the more sensitive issues would be the impact on the Chinese White Dolphins, which are
protectedundertheWildAnimalProtectionOrdinance(Cap170)andtheAnimalsandPlants
(ProtectionofEndangeredSpecies)Ordinance(Cap187)inHongKong.Marineparkshavebeen
established by the Agriculture, Fisheries and Conservation Department to the northwest of
Lantau Island for the protection of these dolphins. Many of the Chinese White Dolphin's
habitatsarenearestuaries,suchasthoseinthewesternwatersofHongKongwherethePearl
RiverjoinstheSouthChinaSea,andthereisaverylargeareaofthesewatersbetweenLantau
IslandandMacauwhichhasbeendesignatedasrestrictedareasbytheChineseGovernmentto
protecttheseChineseWhitedolphins.

Figure11.TherecordedlocationswhereChineseDolphinswerefound[13]
Physical removal of seabed causes damages to the natural communities in the area of the
borrow pits, reclamation and dump sites. Clouds of suspended sediments would adversely
19
affect sensitive marine life through decreased light penetration, clogging of respiratory
apparatusanddirectburial.Thisinturncouldleadtoareductionoffoodsupplyformarinelife
higherupthefoodchainsuchasfishanddolphins[1].HKIAadopteda1kmexclusionzonefor
theChineseWhiteDolphinsduringtheinitialairportconstructionphase.Itwassetuptoensure
that their sensitive hearing would not be harmed during the blasting work. The potentially
massive reclamation needed for the 3rd runway will likely be a hotly debated and highly
publicized issue, with the conservation of the ecology and the plight of the Chinese White
dolphinsbeingforemostontheagenda.
3.3.3EconomicImpactAssessment
3.3.3.1EstimationofgeneratedrevenuetoHKIA
Thecostofconstructionofthethirdrunway,asdiscussedbefore,isexpectedtobehugeand
may well equal to the cost of building another airport. In the HK International Airport (HKIA)
MasterPlan2030,expectedtobeannouncedearlynextyear,theAAhasinitiallyestimatedthat
$13billioninvestmentwillberequiredtobuildthethirdrunwayandexpandtheTerminalTwo
tomeetthegrowingdemandforaviationservicesinthenext20years.[12]Itfurtherexpects
construction works to start as early as two years later and the construction to complete by
2020.Whilethecostfiguremayonlybetreatedasaroughapproximation,itprovidessome
ideaofcostinvolvedintheadditionalreclamationoflandfromdeepwaters.
OncetherunwayisconstructeditwillenhancetherunwaycapacityofHKIAandthusexpected
tosignificantlycontributetotheHongKongeconomybybringinginadditionalflights.According
to studies conducted by the Aviation Policy and Research Center(APRC), the aviation sector
contributed8.67%ofGDPtoHongKong,andaround7%ofHongKong'semploymentin2005.
The8.67%capturesboththedirectandindirectbenefitsoftheaviationindustry,includingair
transport,servicesthatareincidentaltoairtransport,tourism,tradeservices,courierservices,
landtransportsupportingaircargoesandmiscellaneousservicesthatsupporttheaircargoes.
Weshallnowtrytoprovideapproximationsonhowmuchtheexpansionofcapacitybroughtby
thenewrunwaymaycontributetotheHongKongeconomy.
As discussed previously, it is believed that with the implementation of proper ATM and ATC
measures it is believed that possible the ultimate capacity of the airport can go up to 80
movements per hour under most ideal conditions. The third runway will furtherenhance the
capacityoftheairporttoanextentdependingontheseparationofthenewrunwayfromthe
currentnorthrunway.AccordingtostudiesdonebyAPRC,therunwaysystemcapacitymaybe
expectedtoincreasebyroughly20%,30%and40%forthecloselyspaced,mediumspacedand
wide spaced runway configurations respectively.[1] Thus, the ultimate capacity of the airport
under these three different scenarios is 96, 104 and 112 respectively. In the year 2008, the
runway capacity of theairport during peak hours was 58 movements per hour, and the total
annual aircraft movements recorded was 301,000. Thus, using the fact that the total annual
aircraft movements is proportional to the runway hourly capacity, the total annual aircraft
movements for all three different runway configurations can be estimated,. The projected
runway system capacity under the three different separation scenarios is summarized in the
tablebelow(Table3):
20

AnnualAircraft
RunwayUltimateCapacity Movement
Scenario
(movementsperhour) Handling
Capacity
CurrentUltimateCapacity 65 337328
WithpossibleATCandATMenhancement
80 415172
measures(w/othirdrunway)
Closelyspacedconfiguration 96(20%increase) 498206
Mediumspacedconfiguration 104(30%increase) 539724
Widespacedconfiguration 112(40%increase) 581241

Table3.ProjectedRunwayCapacity,aircraftmovementsandpassengercapacityunderdifferentscenarios
Since the second scenario of medium spaced configuration provides a kind of middleofthe
roadbenchmark,inthisstudyweattempttoestimatetheaccumulatedvaluebroughtintothe
airport,bytheadditionofthirdrunway,underthisscenario. Let us also assume, for the sake of
analysis, thatby2020,therunwayconstructioniscompletetogetherwithalltheATCandATM
measuresimplemented.Thus,theairportcommencesoperationatitsnewenhancedcapacity
of104aircraftsmovementperhourbyyear2021,asisalsobelievedtobethetentativeplanof
the airport authority. We project the aircraft movements till 2030 using growth rates of 3%
which pertains to the conservative traffic forecast for year 2025 by HKIA, 5% derived mainly
fromtheICAOsinternationalroutesdemandandACIspredictedAsiaPacificdemand,andthe
actualpastgrowthrateof6.7%.Similarly,keepinginmindthattheoriginaldesignoftheairporthada
capacityof87millionpassengers,wealsoprojectthepassengertraffictillyear2030,usingthegrowth
rate of 3% as predicted by HKIA, and the past growth rate of 5.4% for passenger traffic. These
projectionsareshowninTable4.
21
Year 3% 5% 6.7% Year 3.0% 5.4%

2008 301000 301000 301000 2008 48.6 48.6
2009 310030 316050 321167 2009 50.1 51.2
2010 319331 331853 342685 2010 51.6 54.0
2011 328911 348445 365645 2011 53.1 56.9
2012 338778 365867 390143 2012 54.7 60.0
2013 348941 384161 416283 2013 56.3 63.2
2014 359410 403369 444174 2014 58.0 66.6
2015 370192 423537 473934 2015 59.8 70.2
2016 381298 444714 505687 2016 61.6 74.0
2017 392737 466950 539568 2017 63.4 78.0
2018 404519 490297 575719 2018 65.3 82.2
2019 416654 514812 614292 2019 67.3 86.7
2020 429154 540553 655450 2020 69.3 91.4
2021 442029 567580 699365 2021 71.4 96.3
2022 455290 595959 746223 2022 73.5 101.5
2023 468948 625757 796219 2023 75.7 107.0
2024 483017 657045 849566 2024 78.0 112.7
2025 497507 689898 906487 2025 80.3 118.8
2026 512432 724392 967222 2026 82.7 125.2
2027 527805 760612 1032026 2027 85.2 132.0
2028 543639 798643 1101171 2028 87.8 139.1
2029 559949 838575 1174950 2029 90.4 146.7
2030 576747 880503 1253671 2030 93.1 154.6
Table4.ProjectedaircraftmovementsatHKIAtillyear2030inthelefttable.Theprojectednumberof
passengerstillyear2030shownontherightside
Thus,asseeninthetableabove,theultimatecapacityof65movementsperhour,willbereachedbyas
earlyas2010,2011and2012underthe3%,5%and6.7%growthratesrespectively.Itisalsoseen,that
even after the construction of the third runway under scenario 2 with medium spaced
configuration,thetrafficdemandwillexceedtheairportcapacityby2028for3%growthandby
2021 itself for 5% and 6.7% growth. Similarly with regards to passenger traffic, the actual
passenger traffic exceeds the capacity of 87 million , for which the airport was originally
designed,by2028and2020for3%and5.4%growthratesrespectively.
Wenowproceedwiththeestimationofadditionalrevenuethatthisenhancedrunwaycapacity
willbringtotheHongKongeconomy.Thenumberofadditionalaircrafts(thedifferenceofthe
numberofflightsthatcanbeactuallyhandledbytheairportafterandbeforetheconstruction
of the third runway & enhancement of ATC/ATM measures) that can be handled in that
particular year if the third runway is built with medium spaced configuration (scenario 2) is
giveninTable5.
22
Year 3% 5% 7%
2021 104701 202396 202396
2022 117962 202396 202396
2023 131620 202396 202396
2024 145689 202396 202396
2025 160179 202396 202396
2026 175104 202396 202396
2027 190477 202396 202396
2028 202396 202396 202396
2029 202396 202396 202396
2030 202396 202396 202396
Table5.NumberofadditionalaircraftsthatcanbehandledbyHKIAinthatparticularyearafterconstructionof
runwaywithmediumspacedconfiguration

Undertheassumptionof3%annualgrowthintraffic,zerodiscountrateandthevalueadded
perflight(in2005HK$)ofHK$0.4500million,[1]thethirdrunwaycancontributeanadditionof
HK$12.07billion(in2005HK$)in2021byhandlinganextraof26,857flightsayear.In2025,the
extracontributionwillbeaccumulatedtoHK$121.7billion(in2005HK$).Similarresultshave
alsobecomputedfor5%and6.7%growthratesandaresummarizedinTable6.
%Growth Contributioninbillion$in2021 AccumulatedVAby2025inbillion$

3% 6.6 41.9
5% 12.8 64.2
6.7% 12.8 64.2
Table6.Contributionofadditionalaircraftstothelocaleconomy
In conclusion, although these are very approximations figures under a lot of restrictive
assumptionsoneconomicandmarketenvironments,theyhoweverdoprovideussomeideas
onhowtheconstructionofthethirdrunwaycouldimpactthelocaleconomyofHongKong.
3.3.3.2.OtherAssociatedCosts
TheincreaseofflightsenablestheaviationsectortocontributemoretoHongKongEconomy,
but the associated costs due to its environmental impact and possibly congestion cost also
increase.Letusbrieflylookateachofthesecosts:
Environmental Cost: With increase in number of flights, the resulting emissions from the
burningofaviationfuelcontainingcarbondioxide(CO2)andnitrogenoxide(NOX)willalsobe
more,bothofwhichareestimatedtocontributetoglobalwarmingandclimatechange..Asper
studiesdoneAPRC,theestimatedtotalpollutantscostp.a.bytheadditionalaircrafts(include
selected type of aircrafts only) will be several million dollars. The increased flights will also
produce extra noise to the environment. The noise cost figures are generally estimated by
measuringhouseholderswillingnesstopaytoreducenoisethroughhousepurchaseprices.
23

CongestionCost:Congestionattheairportimposescostsonbothairlinesandpassengers,as
wellastobusiness,societyandalsoenvironment.Undercongestion,aircraftshavetobearthe
cost of additional hours of ground holding which includes due to added fuel and crew cost.
Besides, more air pollutants will be emitted from the burning of extra aviation fuel. On the
other hand, passengers also suffer delay cost depending on the time value of each type of
passengers,etc.Thisprojectedcongestioncostofdelayscanbeexpectedtoexhibitnonlinear
behaviorasafunctionoftheinterplaybetweentrafficgrowthandthecapacityoftheairport.,
whichwedontaddressinthisstudy.
4. Conclusions

Thekeyfindingsandconclusionsfromthisstudyaresummarizedintheparagraphsbelow:
(1)HongKongclearlyhasaseverecapacityproblem,withcongestionproblemsalreadybeing
feltwithtwowidespacedparallelrunwaysanultimatecapacityof65movementsperhour.
(2)Thereisanurgentneedtocarryoutadetailedcapacityassessmentoftheairportandall
majorstakeholdersinHongKongandChinashouldbeinvolvedinfindingthebestsolution.
.Relevantauthoritiesshouldcarefullyassesswhatpoliciesandmeasurescouldbeimplemented
toenhancethecurrentairportcapacity,includingtheresolutionofthePRDairspaceproblem
andtheinvisiblewalllimitingHongKongsflightpaths.
(3)Itisbelievedthatunderidealconditions,theultimatecapacityaftertheimplementationof
allthepossibleATMandATCenhancementmeasureshasbeenestimatedat80movementsper
hour, and after the construction of the third runway with mediumspaced configuration the
capacitycanfurthergoupby30%to104movementsperhour.
(4) According to HKIAs more conservative forecast of traffic demand growth of 3% annually,
theultimatecapacityof65movementscouldbereachedby2012.Ifweassumea5%growth
rateasforecastedbyICAOoractualpastgrowthrateof6.7%,HKIAwouldreachitscapacityby
2011 and 2010 respectively instead. The ultimate capacity of 104 movements per hour after
constructionofrunwayandimplementationofallATM/ATCmeasureswillbereachedby2028
for 3% growth and 2020 & 2018, that is even before the first year of operation of the third
runwayrunway,for5%and6.7%growthofairtraffic.Similarly,thepassengerhandlingcapacity
of 87 million people is expected to reach by 2028 and 2020 for growth rates of 3% and past
growthrateof5.4%respectively..
(5)OneofthemostsignificantobstaclestotheconsiderationofthethirdrunwayforHKIAisits
impact on the environment, particularly the issue of greenhouse gas emissions and the
ecological impact to the oceans around HKIA, including the impact to the Chinese White
dolphins. The proposal for the third runway should thus carefully address these concerns ,
keepinginmindtheinterestsofalltheconcernedpartiesincludingthegeneralpublic.
24

(7)Byusingthelatestofficialstatistics,weestimatedthatoneadditionalflightwouldbringan
economic contribution to Hong Kong by HK$0.45 million. Using a middleoftheroad
benchmarkof5%trafficgrowthrate,andanaveragerunwaycapacityincreaseof30%forthe
third runway scenario, it is estimated that the annual economic contribution to Hong Kongs
economyfromafullyutilized3rdrunwaywouldbe41.9$Billionfor3%growthrateand64.2$
billionfor5%andtheactualpastgrowthrateof6.7%.
[8]Theconstructionoftherunwaywillalsohavemanyassociatedcostsoftheorderofseveral
millions,suchasthecostofenvironmentalimpactandcongestioncost.
25
References
[1]DepartmentofDecisionSciencesandManagerialEconomics,TheChineseUniversityof
HongKongHKIAsThirdRunwayTheKeyforEnhancingHongKongsAviationPosition
[2]A.Odoni,LecturenotesoftheMITcourseof1.231:PlanningandDesignofAirportSystem(Fall
2009).
[3]DeNeufville,R.,OdoniA.AirportSystems;Planning,DesignandManagement.McGrawHill,
2003.
[4]MasterPlan2020,HongKongInternationalAirport,October2001
[5]LookingForward,MasterPlan2020,HongKongInternationalAirport,AnnualReport
2008/09
[6]NationalAirTrafficServicesReport,UK,onRecommendationstoenhanceHongKong
RunwayCapacitybyATMandATapproaches
[7]Cheung Kwok Law, Japhet Sebastian Law, Dicky Siu Man Tse,An Investigation of
Airspace Congestion & Possible Air Traffic Management Integration in the Pearl River Delta
Region of Southern China, APRC 2007
OnlineSources
[8]http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hong_Kong_International_Airport
[9]http://www.hongkongairport.com/eng/index.html
[10]http://www.airliners.net/aviationforums/general_aviation/read.main/2257942/
[11]http://www.likomedia.com/advantage.htm
[12]http://www.associationfrancehongkong.org/spip.php?article927#outil_sommaire
[13]http://www.hklrhkbcf.com
[14]www.etcproceedings.org/paper/download/3203
26
Note:Muchoftheanalysisreliedondataoriginatingfromawidearrayofdatasources;airport
websites,operatorwebsitesandannualreports,pressreleases,reportsetc.
27
COMMUNICATION AND
CASE
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TRAFFIC CONTROL CENTRE (ATCC) Hong Kong Civil Aviation Department,

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of its knowledge, correct, but does not accept any liability whatsoever for any error or omission.
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International Airport (HKIA), where normal traffic volume reaches 1,000+ aircraft movements a day. CAD is reinforcing Hong
Kongs position as a leading aviation centre by making significant ATM investments. New ATCC is a key part of this initiative,
and the location move was the perfect opportunity to update ATM systems nearing the end of their natural lifecycle.
A new AIM system was critical to the modernisation programme, but developing and installing this system presented three
particular challenges. Firstly, Hong Kongs status meant that the new AIM system would need to be one of the largest and
most complex of its kind. Secondly, the system needed to work with both the existing systems in the airfield and the new
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In late 2011, CAD contracted Frequentis to supply a custom system based on its smartAIM solution. Frequentis also acted as
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02_CS_CAD_Hong Kong AIM_0414

InformationNote
DevelopmentoftheHongKong

Research Office
InternationalAirport

Legislative Council Secretariat
IN06/1415

1. Introduction

1.1 The Hong Kong International Airport ("HKIA"), located on
ChekLapKok, commenced operation in July 1998. At its inception, only the
first runway the South Runway was used. One year later, the
secondrunwaytheNorthRunwaycameintooperation. Between1999and
2014, the total air traffic movements (or flight movements) at HKIA grew by
134% to 391000movements. At present, HKIA is the world's busiest cargo
airportandoneoftheworld'sbusiestinternationalpassengerairports.

1.2 To maintain HKIA's position as a leading international and regional
aviation hub, the Airport Authority Hong Kong ("the Airport Authority")
preparesa20yearMasterPlaneveryfiveyearstoguidethedevelopmentof
HKIA. The Airport Authority has so far published three Master Plans,
namely the Master Plan 2020 in 2001, the Master Plan 2025 in 2006 and
the Master Plan 2030 in 2011. The latest Master Plan 2030 outlines
two development options for HKIA's future expansion. One is to maintain
theexistingtworunwaysystemwithenhancementstoairportfacilitiessoasto
caterfortheairtrafficdemandupto2020. TheotheristoexpandHKIAinto
a threerunway system to meet the demand until 2030 and beyond, and the
projectwillinvolvealandreclamationofabout650hectares.

1.3 ApublicconsultationexercisewascarriedoutduringJuneSeptember2011
to gauge public views on the Master Plan 2030. About threequarters of
respondents supported the proposal to expand HKIA into a threerunway
system. In December 2011, the Airport Authority recommended to the
Governmenttoadoptthethreerunwaysystem,whichsubsequentlyreceived
the Executive Council's inprinciple approval to take it forward for planning
purposes.

1.4 The Panel on Economic Development and the Panel on
Environmental Affairs held two joint meetings on 30 September 2014 and
7October2014respectivelytosolicitpublicviewsonthethreerunwaysystem
project. At the meeting to be held on 23 March 2015, the Panel on Economic
Development will further discuss issues relating to the project. This
information note aims to provide the development of HKIA since its opening
in1998 with respect to its air traffic growth, aircraft deployment, runway
capacity, airspace constraints and airport enhancements. It also highlights
majorconcernsandviewsontheimplementationofthethreerunwaysystem
project.
2. Airtrafficgrowth
2.1 HKIA has seen notable growth in air traffic since its opening in
July1998. Between1998and2014,thepassengertrafficgrewbyanannual
average of 5.1% to about 63million of passengers. Over the same period,
aircargo throughput increased by an annual average of 6.4% perannum to
4.4milliontonnes (Table 1). Reflecting the growth in both passenger traffic
and cargo throughput, the number of air traffic movements surged from
163200in1998to391000in2014.
2
Table 1 Passengers traffic, cargo throughput and air traffic movements,
19982014
Year Passengertraffic(1) Cargothroughput(2) No.ofairtraffic

('000passengers) ('000tonnes) movements(3)
1998 28631 1629 163200
1999 30394 1974 167400
2000 33374 2241 181900
2001 33065 2074 196800
2002 34313 2479 206700
2003 27433 2642 187500
2004 37142 3094 237300
2005 40740 3402 263500
2006 44443 3580 280000
2007 47783 3742 295000
2008 48585 3627 301000
2009 46167 3347 279000
2010 50923 4128 307000
2011 53904 3938 334000
2012 56467 4025 352000
2013 59903 4127 372000
2014(4) 63343 4376 391000
Notes: (1) Passengertrafficincludesoriginating,terminating,transferandtransitpassengers. Transferand
transitpassengersarecountedtwice.
(2) Cargo throughput includes import, export and transshipment cargo. Transshipment cargo
throughputiscountedtwice.
(3) Air traffic movements include civil international passenger flights,cargo flights andnonrevenue
flights(e.g.privateaircraft). Militaryandlocalflightsareexcluded.
(4) 2014figuresareprovisionalfigures.
Source: AirportAuthority.

3
Trafficdemandforecast
2.2 In 2009, the Airport Authority commissioned the International Air

TransportAssociation1 toconductastudyonthelongtermairtrafficdemand
atHKIAupto2030asinputforitsformulationoftheMasterPlan2030. The
study was completed in 2010, but the subsequent rapid growth in air traffic
demandhasrenderedthestudyanunderestimateofthefuturedemand. For
example,thebasecaseforecastforthepassengernumberstobeincreasedto
57millionby2015wasalreadyreachedin2012,threeyearsaheadofschedule.
Against this, the International Air Transport Association revised its traffic
demand forecast in 2012 after taking into account Hong Kong's latest
economicperformanceandotherfactors(Table2).
Table2Trafficdemandforecast
Year Passengertraffic Cargothroughput No.ofairtraffic

(millionpassengers) (milliontonnes) movements
Original Revised Original Revised Original Revised
forecast forecast forecast forecast forecast forecast
2015 57 4.4 347100
2020 68 70 5.6 5.8 421200 420000
2025 82 86 7.2 7.3 508700 505000
2030 97 102 8.9 8.9 601970 607000
Sources: InternationalAirTransportAssociation(2010)andAirportAuthority(2014b).
3. Airportconnectivityandaircraftmix
3.1 When HKIA was opened in 1998, it offered services from about
60airlines to 120 destinations. Currently, there are over 100 airlines
connecting HKIA to 180 destinations worldwide which include 44 Mainland
cities. The number of airlines and connecting destinations has a bearing on
the aircraft mix at an airport, and the use of widebodied aircraft with more
seats to increase passenger load is considered as a way to raise the airport's
efficiency.
1
The International Air Transport Association is the trade association for the airlines, representing some
250airlines worldwide or 84% of total air traffic. It offers a range of services to the aviation industry
includingconsultation,trainingandbusinessintelligence.
4
3.2 AttheoldKaiTakairport,therewasapredominanceofwidebodied
aircraft(over80%). However,sinceitscommissioningin1998,HKIAhasseen
anincreasingdeploymentofnarrowbodiedaircraftwithlessthan200seatsby
airlines,inparticularonroutesthathavenotyetmatured. Accordingtothe
AirportAuthority,about36.7%oftheaircraftusingHKIAwerenarrowbodied
aircraftand63.3%werewidebodiedaircraftin2012.2
3.3 There are views that a greater deployment of widebodied aircraft

shouldbeencouragedatHKIAinordertoimprovetheairport'sefficiency. In
response, the Airport Authority has indicated that adoption of aircraft mix is
thebusinessdecisionofairlineoperatorsbasedonthemarketneeds,andthat
ithasnorightanddoesnotintendtointerferewiththeairlines'deployment.3
4. Runwaycapacity
4.1 Runway capacity is defined by the International Civil Aviation

Organization 4 as the number of flight movements which aeronautical
authorities determine can be safely operated. It is usually stated as the
numberoflandingsandtakeoffsperhour,whichisaffectedbyvariousfactors
such as the standard separation between aircraft, peripheral airspace,
operatingenvironment,airport'sinfrastructureandaircraftmix.5
4.2 ThecurrenttworunwaysystematHKIAisoperatedinasegregated
mode,withtheSouthRunwaydedicatedfordeparturesandtheNorthRunway
for arrivals.6 In early 1990s when the HKIA construction project was at the
planning stage, the Government commissioned two consultancy studies,
namelytheNewAirportMasterPlanStudyandtheAirspaceDesignStudy,to
determinetheairportdevelopmentrequirementsandrelatedissues(including
themaximumhandlingcapacity). AftertheopeningofHKIA,theGovernment
commissioned another capacity study in 2007 to identify issues constraining
capacityandmakerecommendationstofurtherenhancetherunwaycapacity.

2
TheResearchOfficehaswrittentotheAirportAuthorityforprovidingtheinformationontheproportionof
widebodied and narrowbodied aircraft used at HKIA since its commissioning in 1998. As at the
publicationofthisinformationnote,theAirportAuthorityhasnotrespondedtotherequest.
3
SeeAirportAuthority(2015).
4
TheInternationalCivilAviationOrganization,aspecializedagencyoftheUnitedNations,wasestablished
in1944 to promote the safe and orderly development of international civil aviation. It works with its
Member States and global aviation organizations to develop international standards and recommended
practices.
5
SeeGov.HK(2014).
6
However, cargo flights and the Government Flying Service's aircraft will, due to operational reasons,
normallyusetheSouthRunwayforlanding.
5
NewAirportMasterPlanStudy
4.3 In 1990, the then Provisional Airport Authority commissioned the

New Airport Master Plan Study to prepare a comprehensive and
environmentally acceptable scheme for the planning and implementation of
HKIA. The study was released in 1992 and it projected the practical runway
capacity of HKIA that could be achieved by 2040 under different modes of
operation: (a) single runway, (b) dual runways in segregated mode of
operation, and (c) dual runways in dependent/independent mixed modes of
operation. Thedescriptionofthedifferentmodesofoperationandprojected
capacityaregiveninTable3.
Table 3Runwaycapacityunderdifferentmodesofoperation
Practicalhourly
Modeofoperation
capacityestimated
(a) Singlerunway 43movements
(b) Dualrunwaysinsegregatedmodeofoperation 52movements
one runway is used exclusively for aircraft
approaches and the other runway exclusively for
departures
(c) Dualrunwaysinmixedmodeofoperation
(i) Dependentmixedmodesanapproachingor
departing aircraft on one runway must take
into consideration a similar operation being
performed on the parallel runway. The
followingarethescenarios:
dependentapproachesanddepartures; 69movements
independentapproachesanddependent 71movements
departures;and
dependentapproachesandindependent 79movements
departures.
(ii) Independent mixed mode one runway 86movements
functions completely independently without
interference to the parallel runway, as if two
runwaysweretwodifferentairports
Sources: ProvisionalAirportAuthorityHongKong(1992)andAuditCommission(2014).
6
4.4 While there was no constraint in using the segregated mode and
dependent mixed mode of operation, the New Airport Master Plan Study
pointedouttheconstraintsenvisagedwhenimplementingindependentmixed
modeofoperation.7
AirspaceDesignStudy
4.5 Based on the above study, the Civil Aviation Department

commissioned another study on the airspace design at HKIA in 1994. The
study made use of airspace and runway simulations, and estimated that the
maximumcapacityofthedualrunwaysystemunderthesegregatedmodeof
operationwas56movementsperhour,andthemaximumcapacityunderthe
mixedmodeofoperationwas63movementsperhour.
2007runwayandcapacitystudy
4.6 After about a decade of HKIA operation and as part of the

groundworkfortheMasterPlan2030,theAirportAuthoritycommissionedthe
United Kingdombased aviation consultancy, National Air Traffic Services,
in2007 to assess the practical maximum capacity of the tworunway system.
The study was completed in 2008 covering both the segregated and mixed
modesofoperation.
Practicalmaximumcapacityunderthesegregatedmodeofoperation
4.7 According to the 2007 study, it was estimated that the maximum
runway capacity of HKIA under the existing segregated mode of operation
could be increased to 68movements perhour, subject to successful
implementation of the recommended operational and airspace changes,
including the upgrading of infrastructural facilities and air traffic control
system. On the basis of 68movements perhour, the estimated practical
maximumaircraftmovementswereabout1200perdayand420000peryear.
TheestimatesweresubsequentlyendorsedbytheCivilAviationDepartment.
7
Underindependentdepartures,therequiredflightpathofaircraftdepartingfromtheSouthRunwaymight
be blocked by the two peaks in the Tai Yam Teng and Fa Peng Teng areas of the Lantau Island. Under
independentapproaches,intheeventofamissedapproach,theaircraftapproachingtheSouthRunway
would have to make a south turn. However, due to the terrain of Lantau Island, the aircraft could not
makesuchaturn. SeeAuditCommission(2014).
7
Practicalmaximumcapacityunderthemixedmodeofoperation
4.8 The2007studyfurtherassessedthecapacitygainifthedualrunway
systemwereconvertedfromthesegregatedmodeofoperationtothemixed
modeofoperation. Itconcludedthat,duetoenvironmentalconstraints,the
dualrunway system at HKIA could only support dependent mixed mode of
operation, i.e. aircraft approach and departure procedures on both runways
havetobecoordinatedwithoneanother.
4.9 Yet,evenunderthedependentmixedmodeofoperation,thestudy
estimated that the practical maximum runway capacity achievable was only
34movementsperhourforeachrunway,or68movementsforbothrunways.
Inotherwords,therewasnooverallcapacitygainbyadoptingthedependent
mixedmodeofoperation.8
Risingtrendofdualrunwaycapacity
4.10 At present, the two runways at HKIA are normally operated in a

segregatedmode. AccordingtotheCivilAviationDepartment,HKIA'sdualrunway
capacityhasbeenontherisesince1999whenbothNorthandSouthrunways
came into operation (Figure 1). It increased from 40movements in 1999 to
65movements in 2014. The rising trend was attributable to factors such as
the improvement of the flight procedures and operations, increase in the
manpowerofairtrafficcontrollers,optimizationoftheairspacestructure,and
upgrading of the infrastructural facilities. The Civil Aviation Department has
announceditsplantoincreasethecapacitytothepracticalmaximumlevelof
68movements perhour by 2015, translating into a handling capacity of
74millionofpassengerand6milliontonnesofcargoperyear.

8
SeeAirportAuthority(2011a).
8
Figure1Dualrunwaycapacity
70
64 65
63
61
59
60 57
Declaredrunwaycapacity(movementsperhour)
54 55
52 53
49 49
50 47 47
45
40
40
30
20
10
0
1999
2000
2001
2002
2003
2004
2005
2006
2007
2008
2009
2010
2011
2012
2013
2014
Yea r

Sources: CivilAviationDepartmentandFinancialSecretary'sOffice.
5. Airspaceconstraints
5.1 The airspace utilization of Hong Kong is not only subject to the
environmental constraints, but also other factors such as the location of the
airports in the Pearl River Delta ("PRD") region9 and the orientation of these
airports' runways. Given the proximity between HKIA and the Shenzhen
airport, the use of PRD airspace by aircraft departing from HKIA is subject to
the requirement that they must reach the designated altitude of 15700feet
before entering the Mainland's airspace. This altitude requirement
constitutes the socalled "air wall".10 According to the Airport Authority,
therearecurrentlyabout23%ofaircraftflyingtoorfromHKIAusingthePRD
airspace.

9
ThePRDregionconsistsofHKIAandfourothermajorairports:theGuangzhouBaiyunInternationalAirport,
MacauInternationalAirport,ShenzhenBaoanInternationalAirport,andZhuhaiAirport.
10
The altitude requirement also applies to aircraft flying from the Mainland into Hong Kong's airspace.
Since2005, the handover altitude has been reduced from 15700feet to 12800feet during specified
nonpeakhoursfrom11:00pmto7:00amthefollowingday.
9
5.2 There are concerns that the altitude requirement has lengthened
flight times and prevented the existing tworunway system of HKIA from
optimising its operational efficiency, thus affecting air traffic movements.
According to the Government, the airspace separated by altitude aims to
ensure flight safety and is commonly applied by busy airports all over the
world,suchasthoseinLondonandNewYork. Sucharrangementis,thus,not
relevanttorunwaycapacity. Instead,theconstraintsofrunwaycapacityare
the time interval and space separation between successive runway
movements. Inaddition,asthereisa10minuteflyingdistancebetweenthe
HKIArunwaysandthe"airwall",therunwayoperationwillnotbeaffectedby
thealtituderequirement.11
5.3 InanticipationofthetrafficgrowthofthePRDairportsandtheneed
to enhance the PRD airspace that can be used by the PRD airports, the
Civil Aviation Department has been working with the Civil Aviation
Administration of China and the Macao Civil Aviation Authority since 2004.
Athreephase development plan has been devised to progressively enhance
the PRD airspace structure by 2020. The plan covers the measures to
rationalize airspace design, enhance flight levels allocation, standardize units
ofmeasurements,unifyairtrafficcontrolprocedures,establishadditionalcivil
airroutes,etc.
6. Airportenhancements
6.1 Over the years, HKIA has carried out major enhancement works as
discussedbelowtoexpandandupgradetheairportfacilitiestocopewiththe
growingtrafficdemand.
Passengerterminals
6.2 During 20062010, the passenger Terminal 1 building was expanded

andrefinedataprojectcostofHK$1.5billion. Theexpansionworksincluded
wideningthecentralconcoursearea,enhancingthebaggagehandlingsystem
capacity, and increasing the security channels and immigration counters.
Besides, the passenger Terminal 2 building (including two office buildings),
whichcostHK$2.8billiontobuild,startedtooperatein2007.
11
SeeAirportAuthority(2014d).
10
Airfieldfacilities
6.3 The airfield facilities at HKIA were improved with an investment of

HK$3billion. Completed in 2010, the project included constructing the
North Satellite Concourse and 10 bridgeserved stands for narrowbody
aircraft, upgrading aircraft parking stands, and resurfacing the runways and
taxiway pavements. Ten additional cargo stands were constructed and the
taxiwayshoulderswerewidenedfortheoperationofgiantA380aircraft.
Crossboundaryferryterminal
6.4 The Airport Authority has invested HK$1billion in constructing a

permanentcrossboundaryferryterminal,namelytheSkyPier12,locatedatthe
easterntipoftheairportisland. TheSkyPiercommencedservicein2010to
convey passengers between the PRD ports and HKIA. It is equipped with
airlinecheckincountersandsecurityscreeningchannels,andisconnectedto
the passengers terminals by the Automated People Mover system. The
SkyPier can handle a maximum capacity of eight million passengers annually.
International passengers and PRD residents making airtosea or seatoair
transfersarenotrequiredtogothroughimmigrationandcustomsformalities
atHKIA.
MidfielddevelopmentandWestApronexpansion
6.5 In 2011, the Airport Authority started the first phase of the
development project at Midfield area located to the west of the
Terminal1building and between the two runways (see Figure2). It
comprises building a passenger concourse with a capacity to accommodate
10million passengers a year, additional 20aircraft parking stands and other
facilities. The project is scheduled for completion by end2015, which will
enable HKIA to meet the anticipated air traffic demand up to 2020. The
secondphase and remaining Midfield development is currently under
planning.
12
AtemporarySkyPierferrypierinasmallerscalehadbeeninoperationsince2003anduntilthelaunchof
thispermanentonein2010.
11
6.6 In addition, the Airport Authority commenced the expansion of
WestApron in 2012, which is located in the western side of the airport and
adjacenttotheMidfield(seeFigure2). Theestimatedprojectcostamounts
toHK$2.5billion,coveringtheconstructionof28aircraftparkingstandsanda
vehicular tunnel connecting the West Apron to the cargo area in the south.
TheexpandedWestApronisreadytocommencefulloperations.
Figure2MidfielddevelopmentandWestApronexpansion
NorthSatellite
Concourse
SkyPier
Terminal2
Terminal1
Airtrafficcontrolsystem
6.7 In 2007, the Government obtained a funding approval of

HK$1.57billion from the Legislative Council for the replacement of the air
traffic control system of the Civil Aviation Department to enhance the air
trafficcontrolhandlingcapacity. Thenewsystemwasoriginallytargetedfor
commissioningin2012,buttherehasbeendelayintheimplementation. Itis
estimated that the new system could only be ready for full operation in the
firsthalfof2016.13

13
See Audit Commission (2014) and public hearing of the Panel on Public Accounts Committee of the
LegislativeCouncil(2015).
12
7. Threerunwaysystemproject
7.1 Thethreerunwayprojectinvolvesanumberofmajorworks,namely
(a)formation of approximately 650 hectares of land, (b) construction of the
third runway and the associated passenger concourse, (c) construction of
apron, taxiways and areas for support facilities and utilities, (d) expansion of
the existing Terminal 2 building, (e) provision of a new Automated People
Mover system and maintenance depot, and (f) provision of a new baggage
handlingsystem.
7.2 The third runway is set to be parallel to and north of the existing
two runways (see Figure 3). Land is required to be formed through land
formation. The threerunway system is expected to be able to support a
practical maximum runway capacity of 102 air traffic movements perhour
(Table 4), which is translated into about 1800movements perday and
620000movementsperyear.
Table4Totalcapacityofthethreerunwaysystem
Proposedoperating Maximumcapacity
Runway
arrangement (no.ofairtrafficmovements)
Thirdrunway Arrivals 33movementsperhour
Secondrunway Departures 35movementsperhour
(NorthRunway)
Firstrunway Botharrivalsand 34movementsperhour
(SouthRunway) departures
102movementsperhour
Source: AirportAuthority(2011a).
13
Figure3Airportlayoutplanofthethreerunwaysystem
Secondrunway
(NorthRunway)
Firstrunway
(SouthRunway)
Note: Proposedreclamationlayoutfortheproposedairportexpansion.
Majorconcernsandviews
7.3 The threerunway system project is expected to help strengthen

Hong Kong's competitiveness amid the growing competition from the
neighbouringPRDairports. Inaddition,theMasterPlan2030envisagesthat
theprojectcancontributeHK$167billiontoHongKong'sGrossDomesticProduct
in 2030. However, there have been intense discussions about the
environmental, valueformoney 14 and engineering issues arising from the
implementation of the threerunway system project. Major engineering
issuesincludeairspaceconstraintsinthePRDregionandpossibilityoflowercost
alternativestoraisethecapacityofthecurrentdualrunwaysystem.
AirspaceconstraintsinthePRDregion
7.4 Somestakeholdersandconcerngroupshavepointedoutthattheair
routesforaircrafttakingamissedapproach15 undertheproposedthirdrunway
14
AccordingtotheMasterPlan2030,thethreerunwaysystemprojectisexpectedtocostHK$136.2billion
(atmoneyofthedayprices).
15
A missed approach is a procedure that will take place under certain conditions, for instance, when it is
judgedthatastandardapproachorlandingofanaircraftisnotsafe.
14
might overlap with certain air routes at the Shenzhen airport. As a result,
certain aircraft procedures could not be supported by the third runway in
ordertoavoidtherouteconflictsandmeettheinternationalsafetystandards.
This may result in limited utilization of the third runway, which will in turn
affectthecosteffectivenessoftheproject.
7.5 According to the Government, relevant authorities have been

working together to redesign the airspace structure in an effort to meet the
expansionneedoftheairportsinthePRDregion.16 Theseauthoritiesinclude
the Civil Aviation Department, the Civil Aviation Administration of China and
the Macao Civil Aviation Authority. They have formulated a plan containing
the short, medium and long term optimization targets and measures to be
achieved and implemented before 2020. Scanty information is available in
thepublicdomainaboutthedetailsoftheplanandthestepstheGovernment
planstotaketoachievethemaximumcapacityofthethreerunwaysystem.
Alternativestothethreerunwaysystemproject
7.6 TherehavebeensuggestionsfortheGovernmenttofurtherenhance
the airport facilities, such as passenger terminals, to increase the airport
capacityinsteadofconstructingathirdrunway. However,theAirportAuthority
has responded that the bottleneck is lying in the runway but not ground
facilities at HKIA. In particular, expansion of the passenger terminals alone
wouldnothelpaddressthelongtermcapacityconstraints.
7.7 Apart from the above, there have also been suggestions that the
Government should revisit the recommendation in the New Airport Master
Plan Study published in 1992 regarding terrain removal. In the Master Plan
Study, it stated that "consideration should be given to terrain removal of
two peaks in the Tai Yam Teng and Fa Peng Teng areas of northeast
LantauIsland later in the planning period (2005 to 2015) when operational
demand requires increased capacity provided by independent departures".17
However,theAirportAuthorityhasrespondedthattherecommendationinthe
MasterPlanStudywasaimedtoreducetheclimbgradientofthecontingency
departureflightprocedureunderparalleldepartures'situation,andthatitwas
notrelatedtotheimprovementofthedualrunwaycapacity.

16
SeeGovHK(2015).
17
SeeProvisionalAirportAuthorityHongKong(1992).
15
References
1. Airport Authority. (2006) HKIA Master Plan 2025.

Available from: https://www.hongkongairport.com/pr_download/HKIA2
025_E.pdf [Accessed March 2015].
2. Airport Authority. (2011) The Airport Authority releases the HKIA Master
Plan 2030. Available from: http://www.hongkongairport.com/gb/pdf/
media/publication/hkia-news/hkiaNews6_2011.pdf [Accessed March 2015].
3. Airport Authority. (2011a) Hong Kong International Airport Master Plan

2030 Technical Report. Available from: http://info.threerunwaysyste
m.com/pdf/en/TR_24May_Eng_Full.pdf [Accessed March 2015].
4. Airport Authority. (2011b) Hong Kong International Airport Master Plan

2030. Available from: http://info.threerunwaysystem.com/pdf/en/mp2
030_full_en.pdf [Accessed March 2015].
5. Airport Authority. (2014a) Annual Report 2013/14.

Available from: http://www.hongkongairport.com/eng/business/airport-
authority/publication/annual-report/annual-reports-2013-14.html [Accessed
March 2015].
6. Airport Authority. (2014b) Expansion of Hong Kong International Airport

into a Three-Runway System Environmental Impact Assessment Report
Executive Summary. Available from:
http://www.epd.gov.hk/eia/register/report/eiareport/eia_2232014/html/
ES_Rev%20C.pdf [Accessed March 2015].
7. Airport Authority. (2014c) Updates on the Three-Runway System Project at

the Hong Kong International Airport. Paper submitted to the Panel on
Economic Development of the Legislative Council for discussion on
23 June 2014. LC Paper No. CB(1)1626/13-14(03).
8. Airport Authority. (2014d) Joint-Panel Meetings on 30 September and

7 October 2014: Response to the list of follow-up actions. Annex
submitted to the Panel on Economic Development and Panel on
Environmental Affairs. December 2014. LC Paper No. CB(4)259/14-15(02).
9. Airport Authority. (2015) Available from:

http://www.hongkongairport.com/eng/index.html [Accessed March 2015].
16
10. Audit Commission. (2014) Director of Audit's reports: Report No. 63.
Available from: http://www.aud.gov.hk/eng/pubpr_arpt/rpt_63.htm
[Accessed March 2015].
11. Civil Aviation Department. (1994) Chek Lap Kok Airspace Design
Consultancy Final Report. 15 December.
12. Civil Aviation Department. (2015) Available from:

http://www.cad.gov.hk/english/home.html [Accessed March 2015].
13. Civil Aviation Department. (various years) CAD Annual Reports.

Available from: http://www.cad.gov.hk/english/annual_report.html
[Accessed March 2015].
14. Financial Secretary's Office. (various years) Budget. Available from:

http://www.budget.gov.hk/2015/eng/previous.html [Accessed March 2015].
15. Gov.HK. (2014) Press Releases, LCQ18: Aviation services in Hong Kong.
Available from: http://www.info.gov.hk/gia/general/201406/25/P20140
6241011.htm [Accessed March 2015].
16. GovHK. (2015) Press Releases, LCQ3: PRD Region air traffic management.
Available from: http://www.info.gov.hk/gia/general/201502/04/P20150
2040569.htm [Accessed March 2015].
17. International Air Transport Association. (2010) HKIA 2030 Primary Traffic
Forecast. Available from: http://vps.hongkongairport.com/mp2030/co
nsultancy_report/IATA.pdf [Accessed March 2015].
18. Legislative Council Secretariat. (2011) Information Note on the

development of the third runway at Hong Kong International Airport
(Chinese version only). LC Paper No. IN14/10-11.
19. Provisional Airport Authority Hong Kong. (1992) New Airport Master Plan.
20. Public hearings of the Panel on Public Accounts Committee of the

Legislative Council. (2014) 9 and 15 December.
21. Public hearings of the Panel on Public Accounts Committee of the

Legislative Council. (2015) 6 and 15 January.
17
22. The Chinese University of Hong Kong. (2010) HKIA's Third Runway The
Key for Enhancing Hong Kong's Aviation Position An Updated Exercise.
Available from: http://www.bschool.cuhk.edu.hk/research/aprc/activiti
es/files/thirdrunwayupdatedexercise_aug2010.pdf [Accessed March 2015].
23. Transport and Housing Bureau. (2008) Consultancy Study on Hong Kong
Airspace and Runway Capacity. Administration's paper submitted to the
Panel on Economic Development of the Legislative Council for discussion
on 17 March 2008. LC Paper No. CB(1)1030/07-08(05).
24.
2015 2 6
25. 2014 11 19
26.
2015 2 7
27.
2015
http://greenerairport.blogspot.hk/2015/01/blog-post_66.html [ 2015
3]
28.
2015
http://greenerairport.blogspot.hk/2014/09/blog-post.html [ 2015
3 ]
Prepared by Tiffany NG
Research Office
Information Services Division
Legislative Council Secretariat
17 March 2015
Tel: 2871 2122
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Information notes are compiled for Members and Committees of the Legislative Council. They are not legal or other
professional advice and shall not be relied on as such. Information notes are subject to copyright owned by The
Legislative Council Commission (The Commission). The Commission permits accurate reproduction of information notes
for non-commercial use in a manner not adversely affecting the Legislative Council, provided that acknowledgement is
made stating the Research Office of the Legislative Council Secretariat as the source and one copy of the reproduction is
sent to the Legislative Council Library.
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1.

231 Planning and Design of Airport System

Case Study: Capacity Issues facing the

Mediumspacedconfiguration 104(30%increase) 539724

Widespacedconfiguration 112(40%increase) 581241

Year 3% 5% 6.7% Year 3.0% 5.4%

%Growth Contributioninbillion$in2021 AccumulatedVAby2025inbillion$

HONG KONGS BRAND NEW AIR CUSTOMER PROFILE

TRAFFIC CONTROL CENTRE (ATCC) Hong Kong Civil Aviation Department,

BUILDS ON A CUSTOM SMARTAIM

a highly-reliable, custom smartAIM

solution on time and within budget.

The company also acted as an integrator

to ensure provision of all the required

consoles and network integration.

Main, fallback and development systems

support state-of-the-art static

and dynamic data management

(e.g. for NOTAM), Internet briefing,

digital charting and AIP publication.

> Improved efficiency and functionality:

through an innovative, modern solution.

to the specific workflows of CAD.

future-ready, supporting upcoming

CLOSE COOPERATION CAD, Frequentis and subcontactors meant that the

schedule and within budget. We knew building access

was an issue in this key project. Although we were present

Frequentis experts worked in close collaboration with

locally, we conducted as much of the implementation as

CADs ATC engineering and operation professionals on-site

we could through remote access. In addition tight project

in Hong Kong to analyse workflows, map out detailed system

solution for CAD based on the proven European AIS

Database (EAD) concept. The company also configured the

software to retain key elements of the existing workflows, A BIG INVESTMENT

seamless transition from AIS to AIM. Given the scale of the

development system for training and testing purposes.

deadlines for task completion. Close coordination between

The smartAIM implementation was built to be adaptable

and future proof. The scalable and modular architecture

and stands ready to support upcoming modernisation

> Static data management

requirements as specified by the ICAO, in particular the

> NOTAM management

System-Wide Information Management (SWIM) concept and

the AIM framework under Aviation System Block Upgrade

> Flight plan conversion between the ICAO legacy format

and the latest FPL2012 format, where necessary

systems and services through to 2028.

The smartAIM project is the third cooperation between CAD

02_CS_CAD_Hong Kong AIM_0414

Year Passengertraffic(1) Cargothroughput(2) No.ofairtraffic

2.2 In 2009, the Airport Authority commissioned the International Air

Year Passengertraffic Cargothroughput No.ofairtraffic

3.3 There are views that a greater deployment of widebodied aircraft

4.1 Runway capacity is defined by the International Civil Aviation

4.3 In 1990, the then Provisional Airport Authority commissioned the

4.5 Based on the above study, the Civil Aviation Department

4.6 After about a decade of HKIA operation and as part of the

4.10 At present, the two runways at HKIA are normally operated in a

6.2 During 20062010, the passenger Terminal 1 building was expanded

6.3 The airfield facilities at HKIA were improved with an investment of

6.4 The Airport Authority has invested HK$1billion in constructing a

6.7 In 2007, the Government obtained a funding approval of