ENG-2006 — Page 334

278 Transport

Aircraft Operation and Airworthiness

In March, a 'Technical Arrangement on Aircraft Maintenance' was signed between the Civil Aviation Directorate of Transport Canada and CAD for the mutual recognition of aircraft maintenance approval. This arrangement is an expansion of a previous one signed in December 2005.

In June, a 'Cooperation Arrangement on Mutual Acceptance of Approval of Aircraft Maintenance Organisations' was signed between the General Administration of Civil Aviation of China, Macao Civil Aviation Authority and CAD. This cooperation. arrangement, which includes entire aircraft maintenance, is an expansion of a previous one signed in May 2002 that covered only aircraft component maintenance.

Aircraft Noise Management

In Hong Kong, the impact of aircraft noise was assessed on the basis of the internationally accepted Noise Exposure Forecast (NEF) Contour. The determination of the contour took into account factors including the decibel levels of aircraft noise, its tonal characteristics and the duration and frequency of overflying flights at different times of the day. The aircraft noise standard adopted in Hong Kong was the NEF 25 contour, which was more stringent than the standards adopted by some other international airports.

CAD continued to monitor closely the flight tracks and the noise impact on the community and to implement all practical aircraft noise mitigating measures. These measures included flight paths that cross fewer residential areas at night, noise abatement arrival and departure procedures, and prohibiting the operation of noisy aircraft which exceeded the noise standard stipulated in Volume I, Part II, Chapter 3 of Annex 16 to the Convention on International Civil Aviation.

Aviation Security

The department continued to provide support to the ICAO (International Civil Aviation Organisation) Universal Security Audit Programme. During the year, one officer from the department, who has been qualified as ICAO certified aviation security auditor, served as Short Term Expert of ICAO team in the security audit of New Zealand.

Assessment of the HKIA for accommodating new large aircraft

Following the completion of the airport upgrading works for new large aircraft in mid-2006, CAD conducted the HKIA aerodrome assessment and confirmed that it was in compliance with the ICAO requirements. In July 2006, CAD endorsed the reclassification of HKIA to a Code 4F aerodrome for accommodating aircraft with wing spans of up to 80 metres including Airbus A380.

The first A380 aircraft to fly into Hong Kong landed at HKIA on November 18 and departed for Tokyo the following day. An operational trial involving airport facilities and ground handling franchisees went off smoothly. CAD with the parties concerned reviewed the operational trial to facilitate the continuous improvement in aircraft servicing operational procedures and facilities by the relevant service providers.