XN000022-1974-01-31 — Page 2

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Thursday, January 31, 1974

RECORD NUMBER OF PASSENGERS PASS THROUGH KAI TAK

Hong Kong International Airport had another hectic year in 1972/73 when the number of airline passengers passing through the airport exceeded

the three million mark for the first time.

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In his annual review, the Director of Civil Aviation, Mr. Roy Downing, reports that 3,056,795 incoming and outgoing passengers used the airport 567,364 or 22.37 per cent more than in the previous financial

Transit passengers totalled 415,213, an increase of almost 34 per cent. The increases added considerably more strain on the already heavily taxed airport facilities, but on the whole traffic was handled efficiently

without any breakdown in services.

year.

Octob

Present deficiencies were particularly obvious during the busy October-December season when the number of passengers using the terminal building frequently approached and at times exceeded the number which it was

designed to handle,

The Director notes that while large scale expansion and improvements are proceeding or about to start, passengers are likely to suffer inconvenience for some time yet until significant developments are completed by 1977.

In the immediate term, some relief was in sight however with the expected completion of two large development programmes to the terminal building by the end of next year, and contingency plans are being developed to do everything possible in the short term to alleviate the problems,

Mr. Downing says.

While air.*****