With its strategic location in the heart of Asia, Hong Kong serves as a gateway to the rapidly growing markets of Mainland China and the Asia-Pacific region. The city’s world-class infrastructure, state-of-the-art facilities, and business-friendly environment have made it an ideal destination for business travelers.
As such, Hong Kong Business Aviation Centre (HKBAC)—based at Hong Kong International Airport—had seen steady growth with its round-the-clock services that range from personalized flight handling to technical support and passenger and crew amenities. HKBAC was also the first FBO in Asia to have a co-located Customs, Immigration, and Quarantine (CIQ) facility, further supporting international business travel.
Celebrating its 20th anniversary in 2018, the FBO stated: “From a few hundred flights handled per annum at HKBAC’s establishment in 1998, HKBAC has grown to serve an annual total of nearly 7,000 in recent years.”
This growth was across the board, it said. “All types of aircraft operations in fact increased into 2018 business and general flight movements in 2018 were some 20 percent more than that of 2017.”
However, when Covid hit the world in late 2019, even Hong Kong’s business aviation sector was not immune to the worldwide lockdown. HKBAC reported that “volume in Hong Kong decreased drastically like the rest of the world, with only isolated flight movements recorded.”
Despite feeling the pressure of Covid-19, Hong Kong surprisingly still saw elements of growth in “emerging new customer groups.” HKBAC saw an increase in demand for charter flights, which could provide flexibility for operations involving medical wellness, repatriation, and pet travel. This was particularly true as airline operations largely halted, leaving many people with varying needs desperately seeking alternative methods of aviation transport.
Further, Madonna W.Y. Fung, general manager of HKBAC, noted that while Covid-19 was a testing time for Hong Kong’s business aviation industry, it gave rise to a few unexpected positives such as the emergence of new customers. “Particularly, demand for charter flight has continued to rise significantly with a growing number of first-time private jet customers,” she said.
Business aviation activities in Hong Kong since have been on the rebound. Fung noted that the FBO has experienced a “strong recovery in business activities so far this year with the number of flights bouncing back to pre-pandemic levels.”
As many new customer groups used business aviation during Covid-19, they “are now more aware of the efficiency of business jet travel, including the time saved in arrival and departure processes, flexibility of flight schedules, and a smoother CIQ experience.”
Now that Hong Kong has opened up completely, it is vying to reaffirm its foothold in the burgeoning Mainland Chinese market by drawing on its unique position as a “double gateway” between China and the rest of the world. To facilitate this, Hong Kong and China’s governments are working closely together, with the former already having drawn up policies centered around connecting cities in the Greater Bay Area (GBA) and the rest of the world.
To prepare for this and strengthen its position as an international aviation hub, Hong Kong is also looking inward to expand and revamp its infrastructure. Chief among the current development projects in Hong Kong is the three-runway system (3RS), which is scheduled to begin operations in 2024. According to Fung, the 3RS will substantially increase capacity “to better serve the needs of travelers and businesses in the region.”
In addition to the third runway, HKBAC is undergoing a HK$400 million (U.S.$51 million) terminal redevelopment project to enhance and expand facilities. The project involves the refurbishment and expansion of the existing executive terminal building with upgraded co-located CIQ facilities and a new all-weather canopy. Also in the works is a new support terminal to accommodate growing demands from charter and group travel flights, along with additional offices.
The terminal redevelopment project is expected to be completed in 2025, with Fung optimistic that “HKBAC’s handling capacity for business jet movement will double upon completion of the redevelopment.”
Fung is confident that HKBAC’s new facilities will play a pivotal role in attracting even more business aviation activity into Hong Kong, the GBA, and China overall.