Airport Authority Hong Kong

The Airport Authority Hong Kong (AA or AAHK) is the statutory body (governed by the Airport Authority Ordinance (Cap. 483)) of the government of Hong Kong that is responsible for the operations of the Hong Kong International Airport.

Airport Authority Hong Kong
香港機場管理局
Agency overview
Formed1 December 1995 (1995-12-01)
JurisdictionHong Kong
HeadquartersHong Kong International Airport
Employees2,602 (March 2019)[1]
Agency executives
Parent agencyStatutory body of the Government of Hong Kong
WebsiteOfficial website
Politics and government
of Hong Kong
Related topics
 Hong Kong portal
Airport Authority Hong Kong
Traditional Chinese香港機場管理局
Simplified Chinese香港机场管理局
AAHK
Traditional Chinese機管局
Simplified Chinese机管局

History

The authority was formed on 1 December 1995 (initially as the Provisional Airport Authority in 1990) through Airport Authority Ordinance[2] and is independent of the government financially. There are plans to corporatise the AA and to list it on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange 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 was opened on 21 December 2005.

On 17 January 2005, the AA acquired 49% stake of Hangzhou Xiaoshan International Airport, with HK$ 1.99 billion, compared to bids by Singapore Changi Airport, Copenhagen Airport, Houston International Airport and BAA plc. A new holding company of Xiaoshan Airport will be formed and be listed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange.

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.

Operations

AAHK is headquartered at HKIA Tower, which is connected to the airport terminal. As of March 2019, the authority had 2,602 employees.[1]

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.[3]

Legislative councillor Alice Mak asked for clarification on behalf of the passenger.[4] 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".[3]

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."[3] The Airport Authority responded that the incident was isolated, and that it had implemented the recommendations made by the Ombudsman.[5]

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References
  1. "Building an Airport City: Annual Report 2018/19" (PDF). Airport Authority Hong Kong. 2019.
  2. "Airport Authority Ordinance" (PDF). Department of Justice, Hong Kong Government.
  3. "Complaint against Airport Authority for Mishandling Enquiries about CCTV System Executive Summary of Investigation Report" (PDF). Office of the Ombudsman. January 2015.
  4. "LCQ14: Airport security". Legislative Council. 4 December 2013.
  5. Sung, Timmy (27 January 2015). "Hong Kong airport bosses told staff to lie to passengers about CCTV footage". South China Morning Post.
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