Hong Kong Airport needs third runway: IATA

IATA Director General and CEO, Giovanni Bisignani, addressed (16-Feb-2011) the Aerospace Forum Asia addressing local issues such as the need for a third runway at Hong Kong International Airport and air traffic management capacity, as well as broader issues covering the state of the airline industry and general economic conditions. [more - Press Release] [more - Speech]

IATA: "The USD900 million mid-field terminal project will provide the passenger handling capability. But the current two runways are near saturation. I am here to make a strong plea to move forward with a third runway. HKIA was planned in 1992 to handle 87 million passengers and 9 million tonnes of cargo. Growth has been faster than anyone could have predicted. At the same time, the 60 movement per hour cap on aircraft movements limits capacity to much less than this. Even raising runway movements to 68 per hour as proposed by the Civil Aviation Department, capacity will only be 55 million passengers. In 2010, the airport handled 51 million passengers so it is already operating at about 90% of capacity. In Apr-2011, public consultations on the Airport Master Plan 2030 will open with a third runway being a big consideration." Director General and CEO, Giovanni Bisignani.