The Labour Importation Scheme for the Transport Sector – Aviation Industry (Scheme) will be open for a third round of application tomorrow (March 18).
As with the first two rounds of application, importation of labour is allowed for the 10 frontline non-supervisory job types facing the most acute manpower shortage, covering passenger services officers, ramp services agents, cabin workers, aircraft maintenance mechanics/technicians, tractor drivers, warehouse operators/cargo handlers, equipment/loader operators, customer services agents, aircraft tug drivers and maintenance technicians. Applicants of the Scheme must be registered business entities which possess a contract/licence/franchise/passenger handling permit with the Airport Authority Hong Kong (AAHK) to operate their business at Hong Kong International Airport. Applicants also have to pay the AAHK $400 per month for each worker imported, while the AAHK will contribute an annual lump sum in an amount of the same magnitude as the total amount paid by applicants. As driven by the Government and co-ordinated by the AAHK, the relevant payments have been used for subsidising the transport costs of the local frontline staff responsible for the airport's operation since May last year.
The application procedures and operational details of the Scheme are similar to those of the first two rounds of application. Applicants shall submit the completed application form together with other required documents to the AAHK between March 18 and March 31. An interdepartmental liaison group comprising representatives from the Transport and Logistics Bureau (TLB), the Labour Department and the AAHK will consider the applications, and approval decisions will be made by the Permanent Secretary for Transport and Logistics. The approval process will be completed in approximately two weeks from the end of the application period.
The TLB and the AAHK will continue to engage in regular meetings with the stakeholder consultative group to listen to the views of stakeholders, including employers and labour representatives, on the Scheme. Information dissemination will also be enhanced through the consultative group in order to facilitate the smooth implementation and execution of the Scheme.
The application forms and scheme details are uploaded onto the webpage of the TLB (www.tlb.gov.hk/eng/highlights/transport/labour_importation_scheme_aviation_industry.html). For enquiries, please contact the AAHK at 2188 6603.
​Premised on safeguarding the employment of local labour, the Scheme was introduced in July 2023 to allow the aviation industry to suitably import labour with a view to relieving the acute manpower shortage and supporting the continual development of Hong Kong's aviation industry. After two rounds of application, around 4 100 quotas have been used, of which around 4 000 imported workers have arrived to work in Hong Kong.
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