The Civil Aviation Department (CAD) handled 2 342 flights yesterday (January 18), setting a new single-day record.
The Director-General of Civil Aviation, Mr Simon Li, today (January 19) expressed his gratitude to the CAD staff for their dedication despite the heavy work pressure, providing quality service, and ensuring that aviation safety remains at its highest level.
"In the past, record movements were usually set before or after long holidays and festive occasions, or after typhoons due to traffic backlogs. This time, a record was set even though there was no overnight operation of both runways yesterday, which attests to the strong demand for air traffic. The total number of aircraft movements handled by the CAD in 2018 increased by 7.1 per cent as compared with 2017. I would like to thank all air traffic control officers who discharge their duties faithfully round the clock. The CAD has been recruiting additional staff. On the other hand, we are exploring ways to increase the existing dual runway capacity progressively in order to cope with the increasing demand for air traffic before the completion of the three-runway system," he said.
A total of 1 202 flight movements were handled at Hong Kong International Airport (HKIA). The CAD also provided air traffic control services for 1 140 overflights, which do not take off or land at HKIA. In other words, the CAD handled 2 342 aircraft movements in a 24-hour period. The previous single-day record of 2 341 flight movements was recorded on August 24, 2017, after HKIA recovered from the impact of Super Typhoon Hato.
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