TNAG-0775-FCO40-979-Possible-new-airport-for-Hong-Kong-1978 — Page 37

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THE SYSTEM TODAY

The air transport system serving Hong Kong consists of the Kai Tak land promontory and facilities, an air traffic control system, the ground transport network serving Kai Tak, airline operators, freight forwarders, aircraft engineering facilities, terminal area concessionaires, and miscellaneous peripheral activities. Thirty scheduled airlines use Kai Tak, and several passenger and air cargo carriers are operated irregularly. Nonrevenue operations, principally by Cathay Pacific for proficiency and training and by Hong Kong Aircraft Engineering Company for testing and proofing, are a part of the system. Others use the system directly: the RAF, visiting military, and general aviation.

Despite the growth of Kai Tak from the 50 acres in 1930 to the more than 530 acres today, it is undoubtedly the smallest airport of its kind; i.e., supporting traffic volumes and an air transport system of similar magnitude. It may be comparable in some respects to the Chicago Midway Airport with 640 acres or Washington National with about 700 acres, although each of these airports includes more than one runway and serves a domestic network. Midway is little used, but National serves on the order of 12 million annual passengers, virtually all on short-stage services.

The length of the principal stages flown from a major airport usually delineates the busy period. The networks served by National are such that the airport is busy throughout the day. At Hong Kong, the busy period is, and will remain, the afternoon hours because the vast majority of the passenger traffic volume is on the Bangkok and Tokyo trunk routes. Morning departures from either point permit turnaround or through service at Hong Kong in the afternoon, with arrival at either point in the evening.

While this characteristic of Hong Kong traffic precludes optimum utilization of facilities, it has the advantage of clearly defining the limitations of the airside system. The volume of air traffic that can be accommodated during the busy afternoon period is the limiting constraint on air traffic at Kai Tak. The ground transport limitations are less clearly defined, inasmuch as there are competing uses not associated with air transport.

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