Hong Kong airport boosts capacity

Hong Kong International Airport (HKIA)’s HK$10-billion Midfield Concourse (MFC), as well as its auxiliary facilities including the aviation fuel supply system and the Automated People Mover connecting Terminal 1 and the MFC, were completed on schedule. 

Construction of the 105,000-square-metre five-storey new concourse began in 2011. Located to the west of Terminal 1 and between the two existing runways, the MFC provides 20 parking stands and connects with Terminal 1 via an extension of the Automated People Mover system. The concourse will gradually introduce restaurants, coffee shops and retail outlets to provide passengers with one-stop shopping and dining experience.

The first departure from the MFC was Hong Kong Airlines with flight HX658 bound for Okinawa. An inauguration ceremony was held at the departure gate before takeoff. Jack So, Chairman of AA, Zhang Kui, President of Hong Kong Airlines, C K Ng, Executive Director, Airport Operations of AAHK and Ben Wong, Chief Operating Officer of Hong Kong Airlines celebrated this memorable moment with the flight’s nearly 300 passengers. Passengers also received souvenirs to commemorate this new page in the airport’s history.

Mr So said, “The MFC is an important development as it will help HKIA meet the increasing passenger traffic demand. In the past 12 months, HKIA has handled 68.2 million passengers, marking year-on-year increase of 8.3%. With its capacity to serve an additional 10 million passengers every year, the MFC will be able to increase the number of flights using airbridges to board and disembark, enhancing the overall passenger experience.”

Mr So added that the AA placed great emphasis to the construction management of MFC, and was pleased to learn that the project was completed on schedule. He encouraged the staff to continue to work hard in the process of Three-runway System construction to ensure that the project can be on schedule and within budget.

C K Ng, Executive Director, Airport Operations of the AA said, “To ensure smooth airport operations, we will gradually increase the usage of the MFC as planned in the next few months. We expect it will serve about 20% of daily passenger flights when operating at full capacity by next March.”