Legislative amendments which seek to implement the latest requirements of the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) for the safe transport of dangerous goods (DGs) by air will be gazetted on Friday (May 7) and tabled in the Legislative Council on May 12.
A spokesman for the Transport and Housing Bureau said today (May 5) that the Air Navigation (Hong Kong) Order 1995 (Amendment of Schedule 16) Order 2021 and the Dangerous Goods (Consignment by Air) (Safety) (Amendment) Regulation 2021 serve to incorporate the ICAO's latest requirements in the local legislation. Such requirements are set out in a new edition (i.e. the 2021-2022 edition) of the ICAO's Technical Instructions for the Safe Transport of Dangerous Goods by Air.
The major changes introduced by the new edition of the Technical Instructions include:
(a) The DGs training requirements for employees of aircraft operators, shippers and freight forwarders have been revised from the current categorisation approach to a competency-based approach, with a view to producing a competent workforce by providing focused training; and
(b) Some changes have been incorporated into the technical requirements for the classification, packing, marking and labelling of certain kinds of DGs for carriage by air. For instance, a revision to the size of lithium battery marking has been made, additional guidelines have been provided to assist shippers and freight forwarders in conducting an assessment on whether a lithium battery is damaged or defective prior to offering it for air transport, and a new provision allowing the packaging of DGs to bear more than one mark of tested packaging design type has been added.
"The aviation industry has been consulted and supports the legislative proposals," the spokesman said.
The target commencement date for the above legislative amendments is July 2, 2021.
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