Both AAPA (Association of Asia Pacific Airlines) and Cathay Pacific (Hong Kong’s national airline) are pushing for a third runway at Hong Kong International Airport (HKIA).
The current runways at Chek Lap Kok Airport will reach saturation point within the next nine years and in order to continue growing tourism in line with overwhelming demand, a third runway is now being considered as part of long term growth plans. A third runway would satisfy both passenger and cargo air traffic demands up to the year 2030.
A three month consultation is underway for the project which could cost some 11 billon USD. It is estimated that a further 650 hectares or 1,606 acres of land will also need to be reclaimed.
Earlier this year HKIA broke the record for flights with 1,003 flights in one day. And last year the airport handled 51 million passengers and over 4 million tons of cargo.
It’s also well worth remembering how far tourism has come in Hong Kong as back in 1998 travellers were still using the now infamous Kai Tak Airport in Kowloon. The airport was surrounded by many skyscrapers and mountains and the single runway pointed into Victoria Harbour. The landings were pretty dramatic and in fact the runway was ranked as the sixth most dangerous in the world.
