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Following is the question by the Hon Frederick Fung and a written reply by the Secretary for Economic Development and Labour, Mr Stephen Ip, in the Legislative Council today (January 18):
Question:
It has been reported that in the light of the spate of air disasters last year, the relevant authorities in France, the United Kingdom, Belgium, the United States and Switzerland have blacklisted a number of airlines which have poor flight safety records or fail to maintain and repair their aircraft properly, forbidding the aircraft of these airlines from flying over their airspaces and taking off and landing within their territories. The European Union is also drafting a blacklist of airlines applicable to all member states. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(a) whether the airlines blacklisted by the above countries currently operate scheduled flights to and from Hong Kong; if so, of the details and whether the Civil Aviation Department has evaluated the flight safety of the relevant aircraft in the past three years; if it has, of the evaluation results; if it has not, the reasons for that;
(b) whether the authorities have, on flight safety grounds, rejected applications by airlines for operating scheduled flights in Hong Kong in the past three years;
(c) how the Government monitors the flight safety of the aircraft operating in Hong Kong at present; and
(d) whether the Government will make reference to the practices of the above countries and draw up a blacklist of airlines; if not, of the reasons for that?
Reply:
Madam President,
(a) Based on the information published by the authorities of the concerned countries, no airlines known to have been banned by these countries currently operate any scheduled services to or from Hong Kong.
(b) We have not rejected any application by airlines for operating scheduled services to or from Hong Kong on aviation safety grounds in the past three years.
(c) All airlines operating in Hong Kong and flights coming in and out of Hong Kong are subject to the regulatory regime and safety standards set by the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO). Under this regime and the laws of Hong Kong, the Civil Aviation Department (CAD) is responsible for regulating aviation safety. Through approval of flight operations, licensing of aircrew and aviation professionals, conducting flight checks and inspection of maintenance organisations, CAD ensures that Hong Kong-based airlines comply with all relevant safety standards. In accordance with the ICAO regime, the regulation of non-Hong Kong-based airlines is undertaken by their respective aeronautical authorities. To operate services to Hong Kong, these airlines are also required to obtain a permit from CAD. In considering a permit application, CAD takes into account whether the airline concerned can produce relevant documentary proof to demonstrate that it has complied fully with ICAO safety standards and Hong Kong's civil aviation legislation, in particular the safety requirements. CAD also regularly conducts random safety checks on aircraft of non-Hong Kong-based airlines at the airport.
(d) We have put in place stringent mechanism and legislation governing aviation safety. CAD will continue to vigilantly enforce the mechanism and the relevant legislation to ensure aviation safety. If we have any doubts about the flight safety of a particular aircraft, we would not allow it to operate services to or from Hong Kong. Therefore, we do not see the need for a list of banned airlines.
Ends/Wednesday, January 18, 2006
Issued at HKT 15:06
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