The Airport Authority Hong Kong (AA or AAHK) is the statutory body of the

government A government is the system or group of people governing an organized community, generally a State (polity), state. In the case of its broad associative definition, government normally consists of legislature, executive (government), execu ...

Hong Kong Hong Kong)., Legally Hong Kong, China in international treaties and organizations. is a special administrative region of China. With 7.5 million residents in a territory, Hong Kong is the fourth most densely populated region in the wor ...

that is responsible for the operations of the

Hong Kong International Airport Hong Kong International Airport is an international airport on the island of Chek Lap Kok in western Hong Kong. The airport is also referred to as Chek Lap Kok International Airport or Chek Lap Kok Airport, to distinguish it from its predec ...

. It is governed by the Airport Authority Ordinance (Cap. 483).

History

The authority was formed on 1 December 1995 (initially as the Provisional Airport Authority in 1990) through Airport Authority Ordinance and is independent of the government financially. There are plans to corporatise the AA and to list it on the

Hong Kong Stock Exchange The Stock Exchange of Hong Kong (, SEHK, also known as Hong Kong Stock Exchange) is a stock exchange based in Hong Kong. It is one of the largest stock exchanges in Asia and the List of major stock exchanges, 9th largest globally by market ...

and to partially sell it to the public. A convention and exhibition facility, the AsiaWorld–Expo, on the northeastern corner of the island of

Chek Lap Kok Chek Lap Kok is an island in the western waters of Hong Kong's New Territories. Unlike the smaller Lam Chau, it was only partially leveled when it was assimilated via land reclamation into the island for the current Hong Kong International ...

was opened on 21 December 2005. On 17 January 2005, the AA acquired 49% stake of

Hangzhou Xiaoshan International Airport Hangzhou Xiaoshan International Airport is an international airport serving Hangzhou, a major city in the Yangtze River Delta region and the capital of East China’s Zhejiang province.

, with HK$ 1.99 billion, compared to bids by

Singapore Changi Airport Singapore Changi Airport ( ; ) is the primary international airport that serves the country of Singapore, and is one of the largest transportation hubs in Asia. More than 100 airlines operate from the airport, with flights to destinations in A ...

Copenhagen Airport Copenhagen Airport, Kastrup (, ) is an international airport serving Copenhagen, the capital of Denmark, as well as the wider Øresund Region, including Zealand and the southern Sweden, Swedish province of Scania. In 2023 it was the largest ai ...

, Houston International Airport and BAA plc. A new

holding company A holding company is a company whose primary business is holding a controlling interest in the Security (finance), securities of other companies. A holding company usually does not produce goods or services itself. Its purpose is to own Share ...

of Xiaoshan Airport will be formed and be listed on the

. On 17 February 2006, the AA confirmed it will hold 55% stake in a company that operates the Zhuhai Airport, with the remaining 45% owned by Zhuhai Airport. The company will not own the assets or the liabilities of the airport. In 2017, the Airport Authority approved a HKD $140 billion (US$18 billion) expansion for Hong Kong International Airport. In 2023, as part of COVID-19 recovery following the relaxation of the Government's travel restrictions, the Airport Authority announced a "World of Winners" campaign. The campaign aimed to provide 500,000 heavily subsidised tickets to promote tourism in

. The airlines providing the tickets were

Cathay Pacific Cathay Pacific Airways Limited, or simply Cathay Pacific, is the flag carrier of Hong Kong, with its head office and main airline hub, hub located at Hong Kong International Airport. The airline's operations and its subsidiaries have schedule ...

HK Express Hong Kong Express Airways or HK Express (HKE) is a Hong Kong–based low-cost airline fully owned by Cathay Pacific Airways. It provides scheduled air service to 27 destinations in Asia, including China, Japan, the Philippines, Malaysia, S ...

, Hong Kong Airlines and Greater Bay Airlines, and these airlines determined the allocation of the tickets.

Operations

AAHK is headquartered at HKIA Tower, which is connected to the airport terminal. The Airport Authority employs 2,900 staff in total.

CCTV controversy

In March 2013 an airline passenger witnessed a suspected theft in the baggage reclaim hall of Chek Lap Kok Airport. He reported the theft to airport staff, who did nothing. The passenger then contacted the Airport Authority to enquire on the availability of CCTV footage of the incident. Airport Authority staff responded that the cameras were used only for real-time monitoring. Legislative councillor Alice Mak asked for clarification on behalf of the passenger. It was revealed that the CCTV system does have a recording function. The AAHK added that "the staff concerned, who were not honest in this instance, have been suitably admonished". The case was investigated by the Office of the Ombudsman, which released a report in January 2015. The report noted that the AAHK training material instructs staff to answer enquiries about CCTV with the response, "CCTVs are used for real time surveillance only", which is a lie. The Ombudsman alleged that "AA’s statement that the staff concerned were not honest was therefore grossly unfair" and that "we consider knowingly constructing a standard response which contains false information totally unacceptable." The Ombudsman considered the complaint against AAHK substantiated and recommended the authority review its CCTV policies and procedures and provide customer service training that "would not compromise the honesty and transparency of AA." The Airport Authority responded that the incident was isolated, and that it had implemented the recommendations made by the Ombudsman.

References

External links

* {{authority control Statutory bodies in Hong Kong

Government agencies with year of establishment missing Hong Kong International Airport Hong Kong government departments and agencies