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Achieving Sustainability for Airports in Asia-Pacific

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ACHIEVING

SUSTAINABILITY

FOR AIRPORTS IN ASIA-PACIFIC

Grow Together for Brighter Future!

Sandy Kwan

Airfield Department

Airport Authority Hong Kong


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1. Introduction

2. What is Sustainability?

o Components

o Importance of Sustainability

3. Asia-Pacific Airports

o Opportunities & Challenges

4. Direction to Follow

o Lead by Example

o Collaboration

5. HKIA Model

o Materiality Assessment

o Carbon and Energy Management

o Resources Management

o Succession Planning

o Airport Safety and Employee Well-being

6. The Way Forward

CONTENT


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1. Introduction

ACHIEVING SUSTAINABILITY FOR AIRPORTS IN ASIA-PACIFIC

Grow Together for Brighter Future!

In light of common characteristics borne by airports in Asia-Pacific region, the purpose of this paper is to find

out the similarities, in particular the common problems, and to suggest possible solutions to tackle them with

the hope to sustain the airport businesses.

Achieving sustainability is becoming more important for the aviation industry, from airport planning to daily

operations. In Hong Kong, the first sustainability report for Hong Kong International Airport (“HKIA”) was

born in 2013. This paper will further elaborate on the components of sustainability and its relationship with

airport development.

Through experience exchange and studies on airports within the region, such as Shanghai airport in the

mainland, Narita airport in Japan and Changi airport in Singapore, it is found that the effect of synergy can be

much greater compared with working alone. That may be one of the reasons why Airport Authority Hong Kong

(“AAHK”) actively participated in committees or task forces held by organizations like Airports Council

International (“ACI”) which advances the collective interests of airports. This paper will further explain the

opportunities and challenges faced by Asia-Pacific airports, and brainstorm a possible direction for all to follow

through a cooperation model for the benefits of all members in the industry.

Moreover, some practical solutions used in Hong Kong will also be shared in this paper. In conclusion, with

the objective to achieve sustainability, closer cooperation should help to facilitate and create stronger value for

airports involved. More sharing and exchanges should be encouraged among stakeholders. Let’s work together

towards a common goal that airports in the region can achieve healthy and sustainable growth.

2. What is Sustainability

2.1 Components

To achieve sustainability, there are basic components for

sustainability, namely social, economic and

environmental. Of the three factors, the most important one

is the environmental because no matter how hard to

maintain the social and economic, the two are undoubtedly

dependent on the greater context they live within, that is

the environment1.

2.2 Importance

Aviation industry contributes to pollution problem such as

climate change. Aviation emission accounts for

approximately 2% of global man-made greenhouse gas

(GHG) emissions 2 , and it is estimated that airport

operations are responsible for up to 5% of total emissions3.

In 2012, United Nations Conference on Environment &

Development published a focused political outcome document4 which highlighted measures for sustainable

development. The themes of the conference focused in two areas: a green economy in the context of sustainable

development and poverty eradication and the institutional framework for sustainable development. Joint efforts

must be put in to achieve sustainable development. From a micro perspective, ICAO Assembly Resolution

A37-19 had also established goals for international aviation that a global annual average fuel efficiency

improvement of 2% until 2020 and an aspirational global fuel efficiency improvement of 2% per annum from

1 http://www.thwink.org/sustain/glossary/EnvironmentalSustainability.htm 2 Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change Fourth Assessment Report: Climate Change 2007 3 Airport Carbon Accreditation Annual Report 2010-2011, ACI-Europe and WSP Environment and Energy 4 https://sustainabledevelopment.un.org/rio20.html

Three Pillars of Sustainability


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2021 to 2050, calculated on the basis of volume of fuel used per revenue tonne kilometer performed5. The

resolution aims to stabilize CO2 emission at 2020 levels – it is also the first to have such shared global

commitment by a sector.

Aviation is also important to the development of global economy. According to Air Transport Action Group6,

the industry not only provides connectivity to marketplaces across continents, but also supports over 62.7

million jobs across the globe and 3.5% of the global GPA. In Asia-Pacific region, the air industry directly

generated an estimated 3.3 million jobs in 2014. With the growing air travel demands of people all over the

world, aviation industry will continue to play an important role in contributing to the global economic

developments.

In short, to minimize adverse effects of the global civil aviation on the environment is sensible and responsible

for each stakeholder to sustain the development of the industry. In addition, a strong relationship within the

region is integral to further developing and sustaining our airports.

3. Asia-Pacific Airports

According to ACI”7, there are 104 Asia-Pacific airport members, operating 581 airports in 48 places in Asia-

Pacific and the Middle East. In 2014, ACI Asia-Pacific airports have handled 2.48 billion passengers and 46.3

million tonnes of cargo. There are some airport characteristics

among Asia-Pacific airports, creating both opportunities and

challenges for the airport businesses.

3.1 Opportunities

3.1.1 Fast-growing Markets

According to ACI 2015 World Airport Traffic Report published

on September 20168, the Asia-Pacific aviation industry is on the

whole experiencing a boom in recent years in terms of passenger

traffic and aircraft movements in 2015 out of six regions. China

and India are always mentioned as new key players in the aviation

market in Asia-Pacific region on its fast growing markets.

According to the 20-year passenger forecast conducted by

International Air Transport Association (“IATA”)9, China will

overtake the United States as the world’s largest market by 2030.

The report also revealed that by 2034 among the five fastest-

growing passenger markets, three countries included China (856 million new passengers), India (266 million)

and Indonesia (183 million). In order to illustrate this growth of Asia-Pacific compared to other regions, IATA10

provided a snapshot of the future air passenger forecasts from 2014 to 2034 in which Asia-Pacific accounts for

35% in 2014 and 40% in 2034.

Sentance (2014) provided three explanations on why Asia-Pacific region is growing so rapidly, namely

“liberalization of the Asian markets”, “growth in wealth and size of the Asian middle class” and “a lack of

alternative modes of transport”11. The above three factors explained the reasons why Asia-Pacific market is

able to maintain resilient growth over decades, where regions like Europe and North America have slower

growth rate. It is because they are matured markets with abundant of alternative transport modes like high-

speed rail (Sentance 2014).

5 http://www.icao.int/environmental-protection/37thAssembly/A37_Res19_en.pdf 6 http://aviationbenefits.org/media/149668/abbb2016_full_a4_web.pdf 7 http://www.aci-asiapac.aero/membership/main/5/ 8 http://www.aci.aero/News/Releases/Most-Recent/2016/09/09/Airports-Council-International-releases-2015-World-Airport-

Traffic-Report-The-busiest-become-busier-the-year-of-the-international-hub-airport 9 http://www.iata.org/pressroom/pr/Pages/2014-10-16-01.aspx 10 http://www.iata.org/pressroom/pr/Pages/2015-11-26-01.aspx 11 https://www.pwc.com/gx/en/capital-projects-infrastructure/publications/assets/pwc-connectivity-growth.pdf

http://aviationbenefits.org/media/149668/abbb2016_full_a4_web.pdf

http://www.aci.aero/News/Releases/Most-Recent/2016/09/09/Airports-Council-International-releases-2015-World-Airport-Traffic-Report-The-busiest-become-busier-the-year-of-the-international-hub-airport

http://www.aci.aero/News/Releases/Most-Recent/2016/09/09/Airports-Council-International-releases-2015-World-Airport-Traffic-Report-The-busiest-become-busier-the-year-of-the-international-hub-airport

http://www.iata.org/pressroom/pr/Pages/2014-10-16-01.aspx


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3.1.2 Huge Investment

According to Morphet and Copeland (2015), the highest level of investment in airport infrastructure in the next

decade will be the Asia-Pacific region12. It is estimated that the sum of investment in the whole region will be

as high as US$275 billion, taking more than one-third of the world’s total cumulative investment in the next

decade. China alone will contribute more than half of the total investment in the region, with an estimated sum

of US$150 billion investment in airport infrastructure. On the other hand, other emerging markets such as

Central and East Europe are expected to record much lower investments of US$30 billion. Hence, impressive

expansion is expected in Asia-Pacific region. For instances, China is building over 100 airports, India over 60

while Indonesia will also have to follow suit to invest for its infrastructure.

3.2 Challenges

3.2.1 Lack of Liberalization and Cooperation

Despite fast growth in the region, Asia-Pacific is still suffering from the lack of liberalization and cooperation

amongst countries when compared with their counterparts. As mentioned by Morphet and Copeland (2015),

“national regulation” and “lack of regional coordination” become hurdles for potential investors to put more

resources into airport infrastructures. The authors also revealed that some key markets in Asia Pacific remain

very unwilling to open up possibilities for foreign investments. Most of the airports in the countries are still

owned by governments. While some of the countries in the region may be more willing to collaborate, the

progress is slow as the countries may be unwilling or even fearful of the consequences after deregulation.

3.2.2 Cultural & Economic Diversity

Postorino (2010) explained that Asian countries, for instance, are more “politically, economically and culturally

diverse”, as compared to Europe and North America13. It is also important to note that despite Asia-Pacific

aviation industry is on the whole experiencing a boom, especially for those countries having fast economic

growth, significant demographic disparity of such advancement can nevertheless be observed across the region.

For examples, some reputable airports such as Changi in Singapore, Incheon in Korea and Hong Kong are more

willing to make investments on infrastructures and human resources. Some airports may reluctant to make

investments.

3.2.3 Capacity & Resources Constraints

According to Sentence (2014), the infrastructure of Asian airports is unable to capture the fast growing demand.

The author added that delays in the region have been prominent since 2010, owing to the fact that many Asia

hub airports have been operating above their designed capacity since then. While the investment is expanding

rapidly for infrastructures, the network is not catching up as it should. This results in inefficient uses of

resources. Not only is the hardware, software like human resources also a crucial part for sustainable

development.

4. Direction for Asia-Pacific Airports

Noting the opportunities faced by airports in Asia-Pacific, it is time for us to brainstorm strategies to tackle

some of the identified challenges or problems mentioned above.

4.1 Leading by Example

First of all, it is essential for Asia-Pacific airports to address the phenomenon of demographic disparity of

resources. It is proposed to establish a more solid mechanism to foster cooperation with a view that leading

airports could facilitate the development of other airports through accessible and established channels. Sharing

of the rich experience, technology, innovation and information gathered from various airports will not only

minimize resources and investment for the developing airports, more importantly, cooperation will ensure that

12 https://www.pwc.com/gx/en/capital-projects-infrastructure/publications/assets/connectivity-growth-airport-investment.pdf 13 https://books.google.com.hk/books?id=5OMQnMrQaWUC&lpg=PP1&hl=zh-TW&pg=PP1#v=onepage&q&f=false


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growth across Asia-Pacific is sustainable by avoiding stagnation in

fractions of the region which could result in lack of market access as

well as flight connections. Leading airports could act as role models

to showcase good practices for other airports with common problems.

More sharing of experiences or knowledge is highly encouraged for

airports to demonstrate any pros and cons of different planning or

practices faced by different local contexts.

4.2 Collaboration

While a vast number of Asia-Pacific airports are in concord with each

other in a sense that they adhere to general principles and

recommendations laid down by international aviation organizations

such as International Civil Aviation Organization (“ICAO”) and ACI,

the region lacks a formal alliance that is comparable to the West. Take

the European Union (“EU”) as an example. The EU currently has 28

member countries with more potential members, together

representing hundreds of airports, all of which are legally bound

(directly and indirectly) by the EU’s regulations, directives and

decisions14. Such a strong alliance between these European aviation

communities denotes strong collaboration as evident in a number of initiatives such as the Aviation Strategy

for Europe, Regulations on Aviation Safety and Aviation Security and Single European Sky. Consistent

regulations, cross-border commissions and agencies not only accelerate growth, but more importantly, maintain

sustainability by establishing an enduring platform for joint decision making rather than one-time conferences

or task forces. It is perhaps outside the parameter of the aviation industry to push for an EU-equivalent alliance

in Asia-Pacific. It is, however, feasible and indeed necessary for this region to build large-scale and formal

channels that target different work scopes to enable better collaboration within the industry in the absence of

an “Asia-Pacific Union”.

Some airports in the region have implemented the Airport

Collaborative Decision Making (“A-CDM”) as illustrated in the Case

Study 1 below. Having established A-CDM, an effective joint

decision-making mechanism at a local level, this fundamental structure

can then be developed into a strong cross-border connection that

optimizes air traffic flow, namely collaborative Air Traffic Flow

Management (“ATFM”). Airspace in Asia-Pacific is separately

managed by different air navigation service providers as opposed to a

Single European Sky in the EU which, as its name suggests, sees the

integration of the whole region’s airspace management. Thus, the

notion of regional ATFM in Asia-Pacific becomes all the more

important in order to cope with the escalating traffic in the region while

airspace capacity remain limited.

The concept of Asia-Pacific regional ATFM originated from ICAO Doc 9971 Manual on Collaborative Air

Traffic Flow Management15. The ATFM Steering Group explicates that “[t]he concept for Regional ATFM

considers the unique characteristics of the Asia/Pacific Region, such as high international traffic volume from

a wide variety of aircraft operators, and the large number of small FIRs” 16 in correspondence to the

aforementioned absence of a Single Sky. By generating a more holistic view of air traffic in the region,

therefore, stakeholders will be able to maximize the use of airspace while ensuring safe traffic densities. The

environment will obviously also benefit from reduced aircraft fuel consumption, reduced greenhouse gases and

reduced noise pollution. Similar to A-CDM, the essence of regional ATFM lies in collaboration between all

stakeholders, in this case on a larger scale between airports, and delegation of a degree of authority to a

14 http://eur-lex.europa.eu/browse/summaries.html 15 http://www2010.icao.int/APAC/Meetings/2013_SAIOACG3_SEACG20/WP06%20ATFM%20Manual.pdf 16 http://www.icao.int/RO_APAC/Documents/edocs/Regional%20ATFM%20Concept%20of%20Operations.pdf

Leading by Example

Local level (A-CDM) towards

cross- border level (ATFM)


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centralized body or system in order to increase predictability and allow time for producing collaborative

solutions.

It is evident from the above elaboration that solutions are practical and applicable for airports in Asia-Pacific

airports. The intrinsic infrastructure of substantial projects like A-CDM, however, is complex and requires

experience, expertise and a vast amount of resources, which might not altogether be feasible for many airports

in the Asia-Pacific region given the discrepancy in aviation advancement. Nevertheless, such initiatives can

indeed be made possible with the help of developed airports through leading by example, experience sharing

and active support. The kinds of benefits of growing as an entire region, especially given the inherent lack of a

formal overarching body in Asia-Pacific, far outweighs relentless competition between airports. Platforms and

a culture of collaboration within an airport on a local level such as A-CDM must firstly be fortified before the

foundation could be moved forward to build up a more complex network between regional airports like ATFM.

In addition, AAHK has also contributed to the mainland’s airport development through investment and joint

ventures. Projects include Hangzhou Xiaoshan International Airport, Shanghai Hongqiao International Airport

and Zhuhai Airport. On the other hand, we also participated actively in many international cooperation

taskforces or working groups like ACI, IATA, etc.

5. HKIA Model

In this section, the approach to sustainability of HKIA will be shared with elaboration of some case studies. In

my views, the HKIA approach to sustainability incorporates elements of “leading by example” and

“collaboration”. For instance, the approach starts with our own airport initiatives, then to cooperate with

business partners, and finally to influence the wider airport community. It will be more ideal if our culture or

practices could also be expanded to other airports in Asia-Pacific through partnerships.

Case Study 1 – Airport Collaborative Decision Making (“A-CDM”)

A-CDM is a collaborative initiative based on information sharing at a local level between different airport

stakeholders, thereby streamlining aircraft movements on the apron. This concept stems from typical

problems currently encountered by airport stakeholders that impede the efficiency of aircraft departure and

arrivals that include, inter alia, inconsistent terms and jargons, lag in updates and dissemination of

operational data and inaccuracy of a ‘first come, first served’ start up approval time. As a result, the concept

of A-CDM has surfaced as a useful solution addressing the lack of an integrated system accessible by all

relevant parties.

Initiatives have been taken by various airports in Asia-Pacific such as Singapore Changi, Hong Kong and

Bangkok Suvarnabhumi in an attempt to create a sustainable and well-structured collaboration system

amongst the airport community. The Hong Kong International Airport, for example, has devised a 16-

milestone approach as part of its A-CDM mechanism after customizing it to accommodate HKIA’s

operational features. As evident in the flow diagram, effectiveness of A-CDM depends heavily on the in-

feed of information and cooperation by parties ranging from air traffic control, airport operators, aircraft

operators and ground handling. Therefore, it is essential that all stakeholders fully understand the objective

and advantages of A-CDM and the flow of its operation so as to increase transparency and predictability,

thereby achieving the aim of timely joint decision-making.


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5.1 Materiality Assessment

To better integrate sustainability across HKIA and our stakeholders, a sustainability strategy was established

in 2015. AAHK had directly engaged different stakeholders, including our employees, business partners,

suppliers and contractors, community groups, academics and young people, as part of the materiality

assessment process. The assessment aims at identifying and prioritize the issues for the airport community to

be resolved17. With the framework, practical experiences in some areas were selected to share in the following

paragraphs.

17 http://www.hongkongairport.com/eng/pdf/media/publication/sustainability/15_16/E_Sustainability_Report_Full.pdf

Approach to Sustainability

Materiality Matrix used in HKIA

http://www.hongkongairport.com/eng/pdf/media/publication/sustainability/15_16/E_Sustainability_Report_Full.pdf


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5.2 Carbon and Energy Management

Environmental considerations become a crucial part for achieving sustainability. When considering cost, asking

contributions from stakeholders may not be the most effective solutions to cultivate green culture or to

implement green practices. Take the example of HKIA, committed to be the greenest airport in the world, we

take the lead to implement different mandatory policies.

Some green actions were taken to cultivate the green culture at the airport. Regarding air quality control for

example, AAHK has committed to switch to cleaner vehicles. All airside vehicles are required to obtain license

issued by AAHK with specifications on emission standards. By July 2017, all saloons must be Electric Vehicles

(“EVs”). To support this green initiative, AAHK has offered incentive scheme for changing of diesel vehicles

to EV. AAHK has also heavily invested in charging infrastructure, including EV and Electric Ground

Supporting Equipment (“EGSE”).

Regarding the aircraft, in order to reduce emissions from burning jet fuel, AAHK implemented an Auxiliary

Power Unit (“APU”) ban in December 2014 that controls the usage of APUs at frontal stands. In order to meet

the aircraft needs, AAHK had upgraded all Fixed Ground Power (“FGP”) and Pre-conditioned Air (“PCA”)

systems. Training and regular monitoring are implemented to ensure the compliance by operators.

Looking forward, AAHK will continue to take more green initiatives with the hope to encourage more

stakeholders to support and build up a green culture throughout the airport.

Location of Chargers in HKIA (Total 242 points)

Case Study 2 – Electric Ground Supporting Equipment (“EGSE”) and Airside Vehicles

Apart from emissions from aircraft, airside Ground Supporting Equipment (“GSE”) and Airside Vehicles

(“AVs”) and airport related traffic all contribute to a buildup of potentially harmful gases such as oxides of

nitrogen, carbon monoxide, VOCs, ozone and particulate matter (i.e. PM10 and PM2.5). Therefore,

sustaining a clean airside vehicles fleet is crucial in maintaining good air quality and protection the health

of airport staff and passengers.

In HKIA, aircraft landing take-off emissions, airside GSE/AVs and landside vehicles are the three largest

emission sources. In order to control air emissions, the use of electric GSE/AVs that typically not produce

direct exhaust-related air emissions has been encouraged by the AAHK since 2012, relevant policies on

airside vehicles licensing are shown as followings:

All newly registered saloon body type vehicles must be of EV type commencing 1st July 2013

Fossil fuel powered saloon body type vehicles will not be issued with an airside vehicle license if

the vehicle reaches 9 years of age or 1st July 2017 whichever comes earlier

After 1st July 2017, the AA will only issue airside vehicle licenses to EV type saloon body vehicle


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5.3 Resources Management

Many airports in Europe such as Schiphol, Heathrow and Vancouver already recognize the importance of better

utilizing resources. Firstly, on the hardware side for example, equipment pooling scheme is implemented to

tackle the fast-growing challenges. The busier air traffic can also be translated to more apron traffic. Without

proper management of resources, airports’ operation may not meet the growth and accidents tend to occur more

frequently.

Case Study 3 – Equipment Pooling Scheme

Currently, each ramp handler owns, maintains, replenishes and uses their ramp equipment. Under the

pooling scheme, one equipment owner owns and is responsible for maintaining and replenishing the

equipment.

Equipment pooling can reduce apron traffic significantly if implemented effectively. In HKIA, a fixed

number of designated non-mobilised equipment like safety cones and service steps is positioned near parking

stands; ramp operators are required to place them back after usage. The benefit are three-fold: on one hand,

no additional traffic will be added to already-hectic ramp traffic. On the other hand, when there is last-

minute parking stand change, the affected aircraft will not be delayed because the ramp equipment cannot

be relocated on time. Additional efficiency can also be yielded as manpower is released from equipment

transportation. Standardized equipment also implies that it is feasible to provide standardized training to

ramp operators.

The overall apron environment has been greatly improved and in terms of safety, both the aircraft ground

damage incidents and ramp traffic accidents have significantly improved by approximately 50%.

In addition, in order to further reduce emissions and use of EGSE/EVs, both the Hong Kong Government

and AAHK provide incentive schemes of phasing out the Pre-Euro IV AV and pre-Stage IIIA GSE fleet.

AAHK also subsidizes relevant airside operators for an amount of 50% of the trade-in value for each fossil-

fuel-powered vehicle.

Until November 2016, a total of 421 EGSE/AVs are in use at the HKIA which covers eight types of

EGSE/AVs, such as electric carrier, forklift pusher, lower deck loader, motor cycle, small tractor, station

wagon, so on and so forth. Some photos of E-GSE/AVs are shown below.


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5.4 Succession Planning

Regarding the software, human resources are also important to sustain the airport businesses. In Hong Kong,

manpower shortage has been a structural issue for the society. With the rapid growth of the aviation market,

long-term solutions have to be proposed to secure enough skilled or talents for the growth. For instances, AAHK

initiates to establish an Aviation Academy with the aim of building up the capability of the manpower to cater

for future growth. There are also the Management Trainee Programme18 and Graduate Engineer Programme

which are aimed at retaining quality and high potential talent to support long term development of the airport.

18 http://www.hongkongairport.com/eng/business/airport-authority/career/programs.html#tab=tab1

Case Study 4 – Management Trainee (MT) Programme

At HKIA, the programme was established since 2005. Thanks to management efforts, the programme has

been continuously enhanced with more structure and support for the trainees. It is a 3-year programme with

all-rounded training and exposure to different jobs through rotations at different departments. With solid

experiences, trainees are given opportunities to develop their leadership and problem-solving skills. Being

one of the graduated management trainee, I am grateful that different exposure, ranging from terminal and

airfield operations, airport planning to retail and airport property, enriched my ability and passion towards

the aviation industry. With a strong sense of purpose, I am delighted to see the success of the programme to

retain more talents in the industry and determined to contribute to the future development of the airport.

With the hope that sustainability of the programme could be achieved through the mentor and buddy support

to the young generations.


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5.5 Airport Safety and Employee Well-being

In view of the rapid growth, higher risks may arise affecting the safe operations amid the busier working

environment. The saturated airport provides little room for intensive training and examination for refreshers

and new joiners, in particular to changes in facilities and operational workplace. In addition, it is also important

for airports to put in efforts to enhance the working environment for employees. A number of airport jobs, such

as ramp handling, are labour intensive and relatively low-skilled in nature. One of the effective and sustainable

solutions would be the introduction of technologies to improve the occupational safety as well as working

environment for airport employees. Below are two examples of technology applications: Virtual Reality and

Stack@Ease.

Case Study 5 – Virtual Reality Application

In the past few years, alongside with the increase of air traffic and airside driving, incidents related to

aircraft loading bridge (ALB) and vehicle-related traffic at the airside are on the rise. As safety is of top

priority for airport operations, HKIA plans to introduce customized training modules for the ramp

community with the help of virtual reality technology.

Virtual reality tools, namely the imseCAVE (iCAVE) technology have been developed in the simulation

of very large and complex logistics facilities, including the automated air cargo terminals and port container

terminals. The immersive tool could simulate various ramp operational activities, with options to customize

scenarios such as different aircraft models, parking stands and weather conditions and so on. Two ramp

operations, namely ALB Operational Training and Airside Driving Familiarization have been chosen as

pilot applications. As of February 2016, there are a total of 412 certified air bridge operators. The virtual

reality training facilities would be deployed to simulate real aircraft and hence minimize the risk of damage

to aircraft during training and examination. Regarding the airside drivers, there will be over 12,000 by

2017/18. To promulgate the importance of maintaining a safe apron operational environment, Airport

Authority Hong Kong will mandate all first-time drivers’ applicants to complete the Airside Driving

Familiarization course incorporating virtual reality technology.


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6. The Way Forward

There is an old wise proverb - “We do not inherit the earth from our ancestors; we

borrow it from our children.”

It is imperative for us to recognize the significance of sustainability, not only for

airport businesses and the communities, but also for now and the future. This paper

shares the HKIA model as well as some practical solutions. With the common

characteristics borne by the Asia-Pacific airports, there are plenty of opportunities and

ways for collaboration to achieve greater synergy.

I believe that you would enjoy the process of knowledge-sharing with passion to develop better solutions in

your airports. Indeed, we have to think out of the box and out of geographical boundaries for a sustainable

development.

Let us work and grow together for a brighter future!

Case Study 6 – Automatic Baggage Loading Device (Stack@Ease)

The proper application of the technologies may one hand improve manpower efficiency, and on the other

hand, enhance occupational safety which would in return increase the appeal of the industry and attract

more labour. Baggage handling is a typical area of airport operation where manual labour is much needed.

It is common operational practice where porters are required to manually lift up each piece of baggage and

load it into different baggage containers. The loading is physically demanding and often induces injuries

and strain. HKIA introduced a baggage loading aid technology which provides ergonomic solution for

heavy lifting. With the aid of the powered lifting device named as Stack@Ease, porters only need to apply

a 2kg force for lifting a 20kg bag. They can lift heavy luggage flexibly with minimal physical efforts and

thus benefit from the reduced likelihood of injuries. Apart from the increased capacity per porter, the lighter

maneuvering work also allows more labour to join the industry such as female workers, expanding the

labour pool for the industry.

In addition to the benefits on labour resources management, the loading aid solution also helps to meet the

baggage reconciliation stands of ICAO Annex 17. HKIA pioneered to incorporate baggage reconciliation

function in the loading device by modifying the standard configuration to include Radio Frequency

Identification (“RFID”) readers. Since all baggage tags at HKIA contain RFID chips, porters would load

each bag onto the loading device for reconciliation before stacking in the containers. The process not only

streamlines the loading and reconciliation process but also increases the accuracy rate of baggage

reconciliation through close-up RFID reading. In short, the technology is a sustainable solution to airport

development, in terms of manpower efficiency, occupational safety and aviation security.


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Other references

- AAHK logo/ photos/ information:

http://www.hongkongairport.com/eng/index.html

- AAHK Sustainability Reports:

https://www.hongkongairport.com/eng/media/publication/sustainability-report/index.html

- Annex 17 to the Chicago Convention of the ICAO – Security:

http://www.icao.int/Security/SFP/Pages/Annex17.aspx

- Image source:

http://www.computerworlduk.com/applications/six-business-uses-for-virtual-reality-3641742/

http://www.projectgreenify.com/post/41196252459/have-a-green-2013-with-these-eco-friendly#.WC6zhNJ96Uk

Abbreviations

AAHK: Airport Authority Hong Kong

ACDM: Airport Collaboration Decision Making

ACI: Airports Council International

ALB: Aircraft Loading Bridge

ATFM: Air Traffic Flow Management

AV: Airside Vehicles

EGSE: Electric Ground Supporting Equipment

EU: European Union

EV: Electric Vehicle

GHG: Greenhouse Gas

GSE: Ground Supporting Equipment

HKIA: Hong Kong International Airport

IATA: International Air Transport Association

ICAO: International Civil Aviation Organization

MT: Management Trainee

RFID: Radio Frequency Identification

VR: Virtual Reality

http://www.hongkongairport.com/eng/index.html

https://www.hongkongairport.com/eng/media/publication/sustainability-report/index.html

http://www.icao.int/Security/SFP/Pages/Annex17.aspx

http://www.computerworlduk.com/applications/six-business-uses-for-virtual-reality-3641742/


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ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

Sincerely, my gratitude to the Airfield Department team for their guidance and support throughout the research

works. Special thanks to the Management Trainees team at the Airfield Department for their active support. Last

but not least, thanks to all the wonderful people working hard in this industry for their contributions!