Legislative amendments on air transport of dangerous goods to be gazetted on Friday
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A spokesman for the Transport and Housing Bureau said today (January 31) that the Air Navigation (Hong Kong) Order 1995 (Amendment of Schedule 16) Order 2018 and the Dangerous Goods (Consignment by Air) (Safety) Regulations (Amendment of Schedule) Order 2018 serve to incorporate the ICAO's latest requirements in the local legislation. Such requirements are set out in a new edition (i.e. the 2017-18 edition) of the ICAO's Technical Instructions for the Safe Transport of Dangerous Goods by Air.
The major changes introduced by the new edition of the Technical Instructions include:
(i) Aircraft operators are now required to identify the person performing the acceptance check on DGs and preserve the records of identification of such a person so that in the event of an accident or incident, this important piece of information will be available to facilitate the conduct of an investigation; and
(ii) With technological advancement, the procedures of checking in and boarding pass issuance have diversified. In this connection, the new edition of the Technical Instructions reinforces the current practice to ensure that aircraft operators would communicate to passengers about the DGs which the passengers are forbidden to transport aboard an aircraft no matter how the passengers purchase their tickets and/or check in for their flights. This practice would form part of the operating procedures stipulated in the aircraft operator's operations manual and/or other appropriate manuals.
"The aviation industry has been consulted and generally supports the legislative proposals," the spokesperson said.
The target commencement date for the above legislative amendments is March 31.
DGs, in the context of air transport, include explosives, compressed gas, flammable liquids, flammable solids, oxidising substances, toxic substances, infectious substances, radioactive materials and corrosives.
Ends/Wednesday, January 31, 2018
Issued at HKT 15:01
Issued at HKT 15:01
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