Hong Kong’s third airport runway officially begins operations on Thursday, but there will hardly be any additional flight capacity for at least another year.
According to documents published by the city’s civil aviation department, aircraft movement will increase by only 4% in the next summer season – from March to October 2025.
The slow growth reflects the city’s sluggish aviation recovery after the pandemic. Existing airline Cathay Pacific Airways Limited has not yet returned to full capacity and the airport is struggling to appeal to major foreign airlines – particularly those that need to fly around Russian airspace, causing them to One is forced to undertake a long journey.
More broadly, Hong Kong is still suffering a reputational blow from street protests and pandemic policies that have set back the economy, tourism and businesses. While overall visitor arrivals to the city are roughly at pre-pandemic levels, many are now arriving from mainland China via land or sea.
“The new runway will be there for a long time,” said Vivian Cheung, acting chief executive of operator Airport Authority Hong Kong. “We didn’t want to use this runway for one or two seasons. Even our base carriers need time to increase their flights.”
The transformative impact the HK$141.5 billion airport upgrade will have on the Asian financial hub’s economy and tourism industry may take longer to be realized. The city has put a lot of work into this project in its quest to remain on par with Singapore as a major regional centre. “This may be the most important key to Hong Kong’s continued success as a leading international aviation hub,” Deputy Financial Secretary Michael Wong said last month.
Documents published by the city’s civil aviation department show officials plan to increase total runway capacity to 1,453 take-offs and landings per day by next summer, compared with the same period this year. Confirming an earlier report by Bloomberg News, HKIA said the expanded passenger buildings connected to the third runway would be commissioned in phases from late 2025.
Before Covid, Hong Kong was one of the world’s busiest international passenger transit hubs. It now faces tough regional competition from Seoul, which is nearing completion of its latest upgrade, while Singapore and Bangkok are also working on multibillion-dollar expansions.
Cathay’s struggle to get flights back to pre-Covid levels has been complicated by staff shortages and a training backlog. The carrier is continuously taking delivery of new aircraft, but is still not fully utilizing its existing fleet given the aircrew shortage.
The airline said on Tuesday it would reach 100% of pre-pandemic flight capacity by January. Meanwhile, passenger numbers at Hong Kong airport at the end of October were about 85% of monthly pre-Covid levels.
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