AN executive director at the Hong Kong Airport Authority, Steven Yiu, has expressed confidence Hong Kong will restore its passenger traffic to pre-pandemic levels by the end of the year.
He noted that the recovery will depend on factors such as demand from mainland China and flag carrier Cathay Pacific Airways increasing flight capacity.
Mr Yiu told Hong Kong's South China Morning Post that the expanded Terminal 2 would open in phases, depending on the traffic exceeding 75 million passengers - slightly above the record 74.6 million handled in 2018.
Describing the restoration of air traffic as proceeding at a 'healthy pace', Mr Yiu said: 'We have confidence that passenger traffic will return to 100 per cent by the end of this year, or close to 100 per cent.'
Hong Kong International Airport (HKIA) handled 39.5 million passengers in 2023, or 55 per cent of the 71.5 million passengers recorded in 2019.
By comparison, Singapore's Changi Airport, which fully reopened earlier than Hong Kong when the pandemic died down, reached 86 per cent of its pre-Covid levels last year.
Mr Yiu, executive director of airport operations, said challenges remained in Cathay Pacific providing additional flights, as well as with overall manpower levels, but added: 'I believe that we can overcome them.'
The airport has 60,000 staff, 18,000 fewer than the 78,000 employed before the Covid-19 pandemic. The authority has set a target of having 69,000 workers by the end of this year, and Mr Yiu said he was confident of reaching that goal, in part due to a government scheme to import labour.
The authority has applied to bring in 6,300 staff, part of a citywide effort to import 20,000 workers. Mr Yiu said about 2,000 people had been offered jobs so far, and around 450 had arrived in Hong Kong.
Still, he expressed optimism, pointing to the airport's HKD141.5 billion (US$18.1 billion) three-runway system, set to be completed by the end of this year.
With the third runway open, the authority closed one of two existing runways for an upgrade alongside other plans, which included the Terminal 2 expansion and an additional passenger concourse that will span 283,000 square metres, while adding 63 plane parking spaces.
Mr Yiu said taking into consideration operational efficiency and manpower, it would be opened in phases.
'We believe that when we exceed 75 million [passengers], to the extent that we need to open a new terminal, then we will open the terminal,' he said.
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He noted that the recovery will depend on factors such as demand from mainland China and flag carrier Cathay Pacific Airways increasing flight capacity.
Mr Yiu told Hong Kong's South China Morning Post that the expanded Terminal 2 would open in phases, depending on the traffic exceeding 75 million passengers - slightly above the record 74.6 million handled in 2018.
Describing the restoration of air traffic as proceeding at a 'healthy pace', Mr Yiu said: 'We have confidence that passenger traffic will return to 100 per cent by the end of this year, or close to 100 per cent.'
Hong Kong International Airport (HKIA) handled 39.5 million passengers in 2023, or 55 per cent of the 71.5 million passengers recorded in 2019.
By comparison, Singapore's Changi Airport, which fully reopened earlier than Hong Kong when the pandemic died down, reached 86 per cent of its pre-Covid levels last year.
Mr Yiu, executive director of airport operations, said challenges remained in Cathay Pacific providing additional flights, as well as with overall manpower levels, but added: 'I believe that we can overcome them.'
The airport has 60,000 staff, 18,000 fewer than the 78,000 employed before the Covid-19 pandemic. The authority has set a target of having 69,000 workers by the end of this year, and Mr Yiu said he was confident of reaching that goal, in part due to a government scheme to import labour.
The authority has applied to bring in 6,300 staff, part of a citywide effort to import 20,000 workers. Mr Yiu said about 2,000 people had been offered jobs so far, and around 450 had arrived in Hong Kong.
Still, he expressed optimism, pointing to the airport's HKD141.5 billion (US$18.1 billion) three-runway system, set to be completed by the end of this year.
With the third runway open, the authority closed one of two existing runways for an upgrade alongside other plans, which included the Terminal 2 expansion and an additional passenger concourse that will span 283,000 square metres, while adding 63 plane parking spaces.
Mr Yiu said taking into consideration operational efficiency and manpower, it would be opened in phases.
'We believe that when we exceed 75 million [passengers], to the extent that we need to open a new terminal, then we will open the terminal,' he said.
SeaNews Turkey