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Denise Tsang

Oscar Liu

The highly anticipated three-runway system at the Hong Kong International Airport launched on Thursday to much fanfare, with the megaproject advancing the city’s status as a global transport and aviation hub.
The HK$141.5 billion (US$18.1 billion) project, which started in 2016, was completed within schedule and budget.
Although a third runway began operations in 2022, the final stage of the project – the reconfiguration of its centre runway – has recently been completed, with the three runways set to operate simultaneously from Thursday.
The Post looks at the opportunities and challenges that the landmark project presents to the city.
1. What does Hong Kong expect from the expanded airport?
By around 2035, the airport’s passenger throughput capacity will be raised in phases by 50 per cent to 120 million annually, while the cargo volume will be doubled from its current 5 million tonnes to 10 million tonnes per year.
It will lift the airport’s competitiveness in the region, particularly in the Greater Bay Area, Beijing’s plan to combine Hong Kong, Macau and nine cities in Guangdong province into a new economic engine.
“The term ‘hub’ refers not just to a destination in Hong Kong or a departure from Hong Kong. People prefer to come to Hong Kong for transit because we are fast, with one of the most efficient airports in the world,” lawmaker Gary Zhang Xinyu, a member of the Legislative Council’s transport affairs panel, said.
2. How does the new system raise the city’s game in the bay area and globally?
The new system further bolsters Hong Kong’s status as a leading global hub and in the bay area, experts say.
The Airport Authority, which manages the airport, on Wednesday also acquired a 35 per cent stake in neighbouring Zhuhai Airport for 4.3 billion yuan (US$592.8 million).
The measures to boost Hong Kong’s air transport capacity is part of Beijing’s mandate for the city to be major node and connector both within the country and between mainland China and the rest of the world.
“Our future vision should involve creating a sister airport to the Hong Kong airport on the western side of the Greater Bay Area, possibly through Zhuhai,” Terence Chong Tai-leung, executive director of the Lau Chor Tak Institute of Global Economics and Finance at the Chinese University of Hong Kong, said.
“The plan is to designate Zhuhai Airport as a local airport while positioning Hong Kong Airport for international flights.”
Lawmaker Zhang said the “ultimate strategy” was for Hong Kong airport to collaborate with Shenzhen Bao’an International Airport, which handles about 50 million passengers a year, or five times as many as Zhuhai Airport.
“The Shenzhen and Hong Kong airports have a substantial international focus, with Shenzhen primarily serving domestic flights. Combining the two airports into a ‘mega hub’ would create a formidable competitive advantage,” he said.

3. How will the increased capacity affect travellers?
“We have a relatively large number of routes connecting with mainland China. I believe for overseas travellers, the airport still caters to the demand going to mainland China. We hope to attract overseas visitors to China and make Hong Kong their preferred gateway,” Zhang said.
Chong said connecting the Hong Kong and Zhuhai airports with bus services using the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macau Bridge could help passengers get to distant locations without having to transit through Hong Kong.
“Previously, travellers going from Australia to Beijing without direct flights might have stopped over in Hong Kong before continuing to Beijing. With the new plan, some passengers could fly to Zhuhai first and then onwards to Beijing,” Chong said.
Creating more options for travellers could lower the price of flights for both Hong Kong and Zhuhai, which could in turn increase traffic to both places, he said.
4. How can the project avoid becoming a white elephant?
The Airport Authority will offer financial incentives to attract overseas airlines to fill the facility’s expanded capacity by increasing flight frequency or introducing new routes.
Hong Kong flag carrier Cathay Pacific Airways, which has about 50 per cent of the city’s passenger market share, has said it would be able to return to full pre-pandemic capacity by January next year, sooner than earlier projections that it would only hit that level at the end of the first quarter of 2025. It also earlier announced plans to make HK$100 billion in investments over the next seven years.
“We cannot just rely on the Airport Authority to lure overseas airlines to fill our expanded capacity, the government needs to chip in with some matching measures,” Zhang said.
“Sometimes, it’s not just about discussing aviation arrangements, [and] whether [the airport] has the time, slot availability or capacity to accommodate [airlines]. It’s also about considering if there are other policies in place that can facilitate [expanded airline] operations, like setting up a business or a branch here. These decisions are beyond the control of the Airport Authority.”


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Hong Kong airport’s new 3-runway system opens on Thursday: what you need to know

The third runway of Hong Kong International Airport, which began operations in 2022, is part of a three-runway system launched on Thursday. Photo: Handout

Hong Kong flag carrier Cathay Pacific Airways, which has about 50 per cent of the city’s passenger market share, has said it would be able to return to pre-pandemic capacity by January next year. Photo: Sam Tsang

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The Post looks at how the new system reshapes the city’s status as a global aviation hub


The Post looks at how the new system reshapes the city’s status as a global aviation hub.


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Explainer | Hong Kong airport’s new 3-runway system opens on Thursday: what you need to know

The Post looks at how the new system reshapes the city’s status as a global aviation hub

1. What does Hong Kong expect from the expanded airport?