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Following is a question by the Dr Hon Raymond Ho and a reply by the Secretary for Transport and Housing, Ms Eva Cheng, at the Legislative Council meeting today (April 9):
Question:
I have noticed that it has become increasingly common for businessmen and executives to travel to and from places in the world by private aircraft. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(a) of the number of private aircraft movements at the Hong Kong International Airport ("HKIA") and its percentage in the total number of aircraft movements at the HKIA in the past five years, as well as whether there is an upward trend in the number of such movements;
(b) of the impact of private aircraft movements at the HKIA on its workload, especially in relation to air traffic control; and
(c) how the relevant authorities ensure that the private aircraft taking off and landing at the HKIA comply with the relevant safety standards?
Reply:
Madam President,
(a)&(b) the number of business aviation aircraft movements at the Hong Kong International Airport ("HKIA") in the past five has been increased from 1,287 in 2003 to 3,633 in 2007. The details has been listed in the reply.
Year Number of Business Aviation Percentage Share
Aircraft Movements to Total Number
of Aircraft Movements
2003 1 287 0.68%
2004 1 732 0.73%
2005 2 082 0.79%
2006 2 853 1.01%
2007 3 633 1.23%
Although the business aviation traffic has grown rapidly in recent years, it only accounts for about 1% of the total aircraft movements at the HKIA and has a small impact on the workload of the airport and air traffic management.
(c) like all other aircraft operating at the HKIA, business aircraft must comply with the safety standards and requirements set out in the Annexes to the Convention on International Civil Aviation. These requirements include requiring the flight crew to have appropriate licences and requiring the aircraft to be equipped with the Certificate of Registration of the aircraft, the Certificate of Airworthiness and the necessary navigation equipment to ensure safe aircraft operation.
The Civil Aviation Department (CAD) monitors the maintenance and airworthiness standards of all Hong Kong registered aircraft including business aircraft. In particular, all aircraft must undergo various types of scheduled maintenance checks in accordance with the maintenance schedules approved by the CAD. Typical major checks are scheduled every 12 to 18 months, whereas minor checks, which include visual inspection of the aircraft, must be completed daily and before every flight by the aircraft maintenance engineers and flight crew. In between the major and minor checks, based on the design of the aircraft, additional maintenance activities and checks will also be required every three to six months.
Hong Kong registered aircraft must complete all the checks to the satisfaction of CAD and acquire a valid Certificate of Airworthiness to fly. Similarly, other civil aviation regulatory authorities are responsible for the safety oversight of the aircraft registered in their own countries. Foreign registered aircraft are required to be maintained in accordance with the standards and requirements set out by their own regulatory authorities in order to ensure the maintenance and airworthiness standards of the aircraft.
In addition, the CAD conducts regular flight and documentation inspections of Hong Kong registered aircraft and, under the Safety Assessment of Foreign Aircraft programme, conducts inspections on foreign registered aircraft parking at the HKIA. These measures ensure both the Hong Kong registered aircraft and foreign registered aircraft serving Hong Kong meet the international safety standards.
Ends/Wednesday, April 9, 2008
Issued at HKT 15:13
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