Friday, December 6, 2013

The early construction of HKIA saw cracks appearing in its runways as reclaimed land underneath the tarmac settled cause by faulty glass cladding used in the terminal.
   
This was the problem faced by Kansai International Airport. The airport located 35km south of the centre of Osaka, Japan first open its door to the public on September 1994. The airport s construction is considered to be the most expensive civil works project in modern history, after the building cost of the airport almost doubled, because the island started to gradually sinked during the construction of the actual airport. The weight of the construction materials made the island sunk 26ft, more than what the contractors projected. This however did not hindered the construction of the airport, instead of using solid columns, the constructors used adjustable columns, specifically design for the project, to support the terminal building.
   
Kansai International Airport after six years of operation sunk at an estimated 38ft which was foreseen only possible after 50 years of operation.

Land Reclamation 
Additional runway construction and expansion to HKIA cargo bay will mean that they need to reclaim land from the deep sea water of the South China Sea that surrounds the airport. The original construct of the airport, with only one terminal, cost approximately  20 Billion. Considering the current state of the world economy an additional runway would probably cost twice as much as the original construct. The building cost of airport islands is one of their biggest disadvantage.
    
Reclaiming land to the South China Sea will also pose a threat to HKIA flights, it will most likely increase  bird attacks , as birds have a tendency to populate and gather on solid land area near bodies of water for food. In 2007, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) reported 7,439 bird strikes, and it is estimated that it is only a 20 of the actual bird strike incidents. The FAA had established specific distances that should be maintained for the constructs of airports to wildlife attractants, the two distances are within 5,000 feet from airports serving piston-powered aircraft exclusively, and within 10,000 feet from airports serving turbine powered aircraft.  Wildlife attractants between 10,000 feet and 5 miles from the airport are a concern and proposed sites need to be considered for hazard potential.
   
Further land reclamation would also make HKIA prone to natural disasters, such as typhoons, abnormal tide levels and tsunamis. Based on ocular inspections, HKIA does not have the necessary seawalls to protect it in case of tsunamis and high waves caused by typhoons.
   
Ecological issues will be a big problem if ever HKIA go to expansion, and will certainly raise concerns with international advocates for the safe keeping of the environment. The sand extraction alone will cause silt plume to be introduce in the local ecology, clouds of suspended sediments will decreased light penetration, that will inevitably result in the destructions of the marine lives in the area. The Chinese white dolphins in particular will be directly affected by the construction, though this particular species of dolphins are not currently listed as endangered, It will be most likely that their number would significantly drop if the expansion is pursued.

A third runway will also increase the greenhouse emission of the airport, as a result of the increase in flights handling capacity of the airport. Carbon dioxide and nitrogen oxide are injected in the earths atmosphere as a result of the burning of aviation fuel.

Airspace Constraints
The growing economy of China will greatly effect the efficiency of the airport s operation, as of now the airport caters to 40 mainland China destinations. As the number of passengers going and coming from China exponentially grows, the airways are expected to be congested, as of now HKIA is only using the airway in the Pearl River Delta region (PRD) as a regulation from the government of China . There are five airports in the PRD competing for   limited the civilian airspace. Located in southern China the PRD is a multi-airport system consisted of HKIA, Macau, Guangzhou, Shenzhen and Zhuhai Airport. The region is comprise of two flight information region (FIR) approach control for Hong Kong and Macau are handled in the HKIA, while Guangzhou airport handles Guangzhou, Shenshen ans Zhuhai airports.
   
The airports in the PRD normally suffer operational difficulties in departure and approach. This problem is a result of the proximity of the FIR boundaries to the airports, the orientation of the runways, and the terrain and environmental considerations in the area. HKIA airspace for civilian traffic is also limited by the Chinese government, the flow control on flights usually cause delays on flights to mainland China.
   
The Chinese government  imposed a  Invisible Wall  for aircrafts coming and from HKIA. Aircrafts crossing the Hong Kong and Zhuhai airspace are required to climb 15,000 ft, as a result aircrafts spend unnecessary flight time and fuel. (HKIA 2025)
   
According to the report from Centre for Asia Pacific Aviation, Dragonair (HKIA local carrier for flights to China) reported that 20-25 of its flights are delayed by more that 30 minutes during peak seasons. This is mainly caused by the traffic and congestion in the PRD region, and the  Invisible Wall  between Hong Kong and China, where aircrafts are forced to make long and expensive detours over the South China Sea before landing in HKIA.

Runway Capacity 
HKIA runways are currently under their maximum capacity, though the airport is currently seeing a 54 movementshour according to CAD, and the two runways has a 60 aircraft movementhour ultimate capacity. The aircraft movement between the two runways is not balance. HKIAs South runway is mainly used for take-off only, and the North runway is for landing only. This can result in the overloading of one runway, and under utilization of the other. This can be observe in cases when the number of arrivals significantly differs from the number of departures. HKIA original construct was based on the principle of uni-directional flow management, which often overflow the departurelanding queue causing flight delays.
   
The growing popularity of smaller aircrafts also contributes to HKIA runway movement, This can be attributed to the growing economy of china, the majority of cargo planes going and coming to China uses smaller aircrafts.  

ATC and Technology
According to Hong Kongs Civil Aviation Department (CAD), the Air Traffic Control (ATC) System for HKIA is already 10 years old. The capabilities and functionalities of this system will not be able to accommodate the growing air traffic in Hong Kong. According to CAD the ATC replacement will be three times larger that the existing system, and that replacing the system in-site is not possible because the current floor space for the ATC system will not accommodate the size of the new system. It will also cause disruption on the on-going operations of the airport that will results to flight delays.
   
HKIA is still waiting to adopt the new Automatic Dependent Surveillance-Broadcast (ADS-B). This is a new technology currently used in the United States and Australia, which allows air traffic controllers to reduce the separation in crowded skies. The new system uses the electronic equipments on-board an aircraft to automatically broadcast position, altitude, and velocity using GPS and other navigation system.

Ground Transport
HKIA ground transport map  
HKIA managements are planning to build a  SkyCity  within the grounds of the airport. The city in the airport will be a residential and service-oriented business clusters. The completion of this project will greatly contribute on the flow of ground traffic going and coming to HKIA.
   
Currently, the biggest problem on the ground transport of HKIA is the capacity of the  Skypier . The Skypier provides direct ferry service for transit passengers coming and going to mainland China. It caters to seven ports in the Pearl River Delta Humen port of Dongguan, Nansha port of Guangzhou,Mantimo terminal of Macau, Shekou port of Shenzhen, Jiushou post of Zhuhai and Zhongshan port. With people coming to seven ports the Skypier is normally crowded and overflowing with people.
  
As of now there is no immediate problems for the accessibility of HKIA. The Airport Express  managed by MTR Corporation, offers a convenient 24 minutes travel from the airport to Hong Kong Central District. There are 25 bus routes from various parts of the area going to the airport, and different taxi operators provides convenience for travelers on the go.

Landside Facilities
The existing passenger terminal of HKIA is currently one of the best in the world today. There is no issue to raise regarding this part of the airport. The passenger terminal facilities includes a Business Centre, Internet Lounges, WiFi accessibility, the Regal Airport Hotel, a wide range of shopping malls, entertainment and recreational facilities. HKIAs passenger terminal is a destination by itself. The terminal was designed for the comfort of its passengers, it has high ceilings and glass walls that allows sunlight to pass through. Rest lounge are located in strategic locations around the airport.
    HKIA was voted as the second best airport in the world of 2009, behind Incheon International Airport, by Skytrax.

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