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WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 9, 1994
J
SINCE THE AIRPORT HAS REACHED CAPACITY IN MOST HOURS OF THE
THE DAY, FROM 8.30 AM TO MIDNIGHT, THE CLOSING TIME,
CONSEQUENCE OF ANY TRAFFIC DISRUPTION COULD BE SERIOUS, MR LOK SAID.
"TO
PREVENT THE SUBSEQUENT BACKLOG TRAFFIC FROM OVERLOADING THE SYSTEM,
THROUGH EXCESSIVE BUNCHING WHICH WOULD HAVE DEFEATED PURPOSE OF THE SCHEDULED CO-ORDINATION EFFORTS, A FLOW MANAGEMENT SYSTEM IS BEING DEVELOPED.
THE
HE
THIS WOULD ALSO MINIMISE WASTEFUL SAID DIVERSIONS TO OTHER AIRPORTS.
HOLDING
OR
EVEN
AIR TRAFFIC IN THE ASIA/PACIFIC REGION HAS INCREASED BY LEAPS AND BOUNDS, MR LOK REMARKED, ADDING THAT THE INTERNATIONAL CIVIL
THE AVIATION ORGANISATION'S OCTOBER 1994 FORECASTS UP SHOW THAT THE REGION WILL EXPERIENCE THE HIGHEST GROWTH RATE.
YEAR 2003
PER
ON THE OTHER HAND, THE INTERNATIONAL AIR TRANSPORT ASSOCIATION PROJECTED THAT BY 2010, ASIA/PACIFIC TRAFFIC WILL ACCOUNT FOR 51 CENT OF THE WORLD'S TOTAL.
PAST
"TRAFFIC IN HONG KONG HAS GROWN BY A FACTOR OF 2.5 IN THE DECADE. THE SAME HAPPENED IN THE PREVIOUS DECADE, SO IN TWO DECADES TRAFFIC INCREASED SIXFOLD, HE SAID.
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"BY THE END OF SEPTEMBER THIS YEAR, THE 12-MONTH RUNNING TOTAL OF OF INTERNATIONAL PASSENGER TRAFFIC WAS 25.5 MILLION AND THE AMOUNT AIR CARGO HANDLED WAS 1.2 MILLION TONNES.
INTERNATIONAL FLIGHTS
"TO ACHIEVE THESE RESULTS, SOME 140,000 OF AN AWKWARD MIX OF ABOUT 78 PER CENT HEAVIES AND 22 PER CENT MEDIUM
OF KAI AND LIGHTS AIRCRAFT OPERATED INTO AND OUT
WHILE TAK, 315,000 FLIGHTS TRANSITED HONG KONG AIRSPACE," MR LOK SAID.
ABOUT
SUCH SUBSTANTIAL PREDICTED GROWTH RATES IN THE REGION ENCOURAGED LARGE INVESTMENTS IN AIRPORT PROJECTS. INCREASINGLY, AIRPORTS ARE BEING BUILT AND EXISTING AIRPORTS EXPANDED NOT ONLY MEET INCREASING ORIGINATING AND TERMINATING TRAFFIC DEMANDS BUT TO SERVE AS TRANSFER AND TRANSIT TRAFFIC HUBS.
HAVE
NEW
то
ALSO
MR LOK SAID то EVOLVE THE AIRSPACE INFRASTRUCTURE AT A COMPATIBLE SPEED MUST BE ENSURED, OTHERWISE THE BENEFITS OF HAVING THESE NEW AIRPORTS BUILT MIGHT NOT BE REALISED.
TO SUPPORT THE ANTICIPATED GROWTH OF AIR TRAFFIC WELL INTO NEXT
HONG KONG WAS DETERMINED TO INVEST IN CENTURY, MR LOK SAID AIR TRAFFIC MANAGEMENT INFRASTRUCTURE.
THE
THE
THE
HE CALLED ON THE AVIATION AND AIRPORT AUTHORITIES, THE AIRLINE INDUSTRY AND EQUIPMENT MANUFACTURERS TO WORK TOGETHER TO RISE TO MANY CHALLENGES AHEAD.
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