Local Advocacy Leads to New Slots at Hong Kong International Airport

Nov. 20, 2018

Two additional nighttime slots are now available for general aviation operations at the Hong Kong International Airport (IHKG), thanks to efforts headed by the Hong Kong chapter of the Asian Business Aviation Association (AsBAA) and other stakeholders.

“The Asian Business Aviation Association began working with the Hong Kong Civil Aviation Department and the Hong Kong Airport Authority in 2016 to secure more slots for general aviation operators,” said Sarah Kalmeta, member of the AsBAA Board of Governors and regional director of operations at Universal Weather & Aviation Inc. “We appreciate our partnership with the Civil Aviation Department and Airport Authority and the coordination required to make these additional slots available. As Hong Kong International Airport completes its third runway project, we will continue to lobby for our ‘fair share’ percentage of available slots, instead of the fixed number available today.”

The two additional nighttime slots were added in August 2018, according to AsBAA.

Six slots are now available for general aviation operations between 1600-2059 UTC. The six slots are available to all aircraft types, including those not currently exempted from the Noise Quota Count Pilot Scheme, with nine slots total now available during the full night period of 1400-2259 UTC. The additional slots are part of a trial, and are available on a temporary basis subject to review by the Airport Authority of Hong Kong and the Hong Kong Schedule Coordination Office. The trial will continue until March 31, 2019.

“Business aviation is an important contributor to Hong Kong’s continued economic growth,” said Doug Carr, NBAA’s vice president of regulatory and international affairs. “This increase in available slots is of significant value to business aviation, since all arrivals and departures require slots and scheduled commercial and cargo operations are given priority for daytime slots.”

The application procedure is unchanged – operators must pay an annual fee to use a third-party website to request a slot or may use a handler for assistance in securing a slot.

Carr and Kalmeta both urge pilots and operators to be aware of penalties associated with not using an assigned slot, cancelling a slot without advance notice or being substantially late for the assigned slot time. These actions may result in penalty points, which are now assigned to the specific tail number. Repeat offenders may face penalties.

“Be familiar with the slot reservation and cancellation processes,” said Carr. “Our industry must use all slots at Hong Kong International Airport responsibly to demonstrate our operational compliance and so the authorities consider the trial program successful, hopefully leading to additional access.”

AsBAA predicts 2018 business aviation movements at HKG may increase 28 percent over 2017. AsBAA will present an annual session on airport access, which includes HKG, at during the education sessions at the 2019 Asian Business Aviation Conference & Exhibition (ABACE2019), set for April 16-18 in Shanghai, China. Learn more about ABACE2019.