Airport city rises amid robust demand (hktdc.com)


	Hong Kong International Airport’s new Terminal 2 features dining, entertainment and streamline connections – even a golf course is included in the SkyCity masterplan

Hong Kong International Airport (HKIA) has opened its new passenger Terminal 2 (T2), bringing a range of exciting new facilities and services to the airport’s rapidly expanding customer base.

Located next to Terminal 1, T2 is the centrepiece of HKIA's larger retail and entertainment precinct, SkyCity. The development will provide local and overseas passengers with a dynamic and memorable airport experience, further strengthening HKIA’s role as a regional and international transportation hub.

In February, 130 retail and catering outlets in SkyPlaza and four entertainment zones began a phased opening in the 140,000-square-metre terminal. Further openings scheduled for this year include the debut of a 36-bay coach station, and 56 airline check-in counters and customs and immigration facilities.

Record throughput

The opening follows news that new records were set at HKIA in 2006, with passenger and cargo throughput growing 9.1 per cent and 5.2 per cent over 2005, to 44.45 million passengers and 3.58 million tones respectively. Aircraft movements increased 6.4 per cent, to 280,490.

Airport Authority Chief Executive Officer Dr David Pang said HKIA had benefited from robust demand, fuelled by continued economic expansion in both Hong Kong and the Chinese mainland. “We saw solid growth in passenger volumes from Southeast Asia and the mainland, and the outlook for 2007 remains positive," he said.

Commercial Director Hans Bakker said T2 and the SkyCity development as a whole was transforming HKIA from a city's airport to an airport city. Being the centrepiece of SkyCity, the new terminal is also an integrated multimodal hub, where air, sea, land and rail transport converge seamlessly, he said.

“We have invested HK$2.8 billion (US$360 million) in Terminal 2, an automated people mover connecting T1 and T2, and two office buildings, including HKIA Tower, which will be the new headquarters for the Airport Authority. This investment will allow us to better meet passenger demand and strengthen HKIA's role as a regional and international transportation hub."

SkyCity golf course

In addition to T2, other projects under the SkyCity development include the SkyCity Nine Eagles Golf Course; SkyPier, a permanent cross-boundary ferry terminal; and a second airport hotel, the Hong Kong SkyCity Marriott Hotel. The golf course is scheduled to open in the first half of this year whereas the other two projects are slated to open in 2008.

Last year, an additional nine carriers joined the airport’s extensive air link network, bringing the number of destinations served by HKIA to 150, including 40 mainland cities. These included the world's first long-haul budget carrier, Oasis Hong Kong Airlines, which launched a Hong Kong-London service in October.

Six airlines - Cathay Pacific Airways, British Airways, Virgin Atlantic Airways, Qantas Airways, Air New Zealand and Oasis Hong Kong Airlines - now operate 77 flights between Hong Kong and London each week. Since 2004, the number of flights between the two cities has increased by 83 per cent, making HKIA the Asian Pacific airport with the most frequent service to London.

Best airport

Also in 2006, HKIA was named Best Airport for the fourth year in a row. Passengers voting in the annual awards held by TTG – a leading brand name for a list of renowned travel publications - cited HKIA’s excellent facilities, user-friendliness and efficiency of immigration and baggage claim, well-designed floor layout as well as convenient ground accessibility.