ebulletin

January 21, 2020
HKIA releases 2019 air traffic figures
Hong Kong International Airport (HKIA) handled 71.5 million passengers and 419,730 flight movements in 2019. The figures represent decreases of 4.2% in passenger volume and 1.9% in flight movements, respectively, compared to 2018. Total cargo throughput declined 6.1% year on year to 4.8 million tonnes. During the year, HKIA’s extensive air network was expanded by 17 new destinations – including Beijing Daxing International Airport, Borg El Arab, Dover Cheswold, Doncaster, Guwahati, Hefei, Istanbul Ataturk Airport, Jieyang, Labuan, Nagasaki, Niigata, Phu Quoc, Puerto Princesa, Shimojishima, Yangzhou, Yekaterinburg and Yinchuan. HKIA registered 33,990 flight movements in December 2019, an 8.4% year-on-year decrease. Passenger volume declined 12.5% to 5.7 million while cargo throughput decreased slightly by 1% to 443,000 tonnes compared to December 2018.
Vivian Cheung, Executive Director of Airport Operations for the AA, said, “We went through a challenging year in 2019. I must thank the 78,000 members of the airport community for their dedication to ensuring smooth, safe journeys for our passengers, especially in difficult circumstances. “Looking ahead, we will continue to enhance the airport's facilities to improve the passenger experience at HKIA even more,” Mrs Cheung added. “Following the commissioning of the Terminal 1 (T1) extension and the revamp of the East Hall food court in 2019, our enhancements of T1 will continue with gate transformation, the commissioning of Sky Bridge and the extension of Car Park 4. HKIA will always emphasise passenger-centric features to provide a vibrant, world-class experience for travellers.”

Airport Authority Hong Kong (AA) recently announced the appointment of Ricky Leung as Executive Director, Engineering & Technology, with effect from 16 January 2020. He succeeds Alex Kwan, who will retire on the same day. Reporting to the AA’s Chief Executive Officer, Fred Lam, Mr Leung will be a key member of the senior management team. Mr Leung is tasked with leading the Engineering & Technology Division, where his responsibilities will include managing the AA’s assets and delivering engineering and capital works projects at Hong Kong International Airport (HKIA). He has served in a wide range of important roles over the course of his 28-year career with the AA, covering planning, design, construction, facilities, systems, operations and maintenance. He was appointed as Deputy Director, Engineering & Technology in 2015.
Mr Lam said, “I am very grateful to Alex for his dedication and contributions to the AA over the past three years. Several major developments and capital works projects at HKIA were successfully carried out under his leadership, and I wish him a happy retirement.”
"I would also like to congratulate Ricky on his new role. Ricky is a chartered civil and structural engineer with over 35 years of experience. He has played a key role in the recent major infrastructure projects at HKIA including the Terminal 1 extension and Sky Bridge. I am confident that with his expertise and vast experience in airport infrastructure projects, the team will continue to contribute to the airport's continuous development.”

Ricky Leung