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March 16, 2024
Hong Kong welcomed the IATA World Cargo Symposium 2024, the largest annual global event in the air cargo industry held first time ever in Hong Kong this week. Not only does the Symposium serve as a platform for Hong Kong to showcase its strength, but it also helps drive Hong Kong's mega event economy.
Hong Kong Airport receives international accreditations
The World Cargo Symposium is organized by the International Air Transport Association (IATA), the largest trade association representing airlines worldwide with approximately 320 member airlines from 120 countries which helps formulate industry policy and standards. Hong Kong International Airport is the first airport to obtain all four IATA CEIV certifications, which are industry-wide accreditations for special cargo handling. These certifications cover the transportation of including for pharmaceuticals, perishables, live animals, and lithium batteries. Moreover, Cathay Cargo Terminal and Hong Kong Air Cargo Terminals Limited (Hactl) successfully achieved IATA IEnvA certification, which made them the first two cargo handling-companies to achieve IEnvA in Asia. This is a very good example to show that members of the Hong Kong Airport try their best to minimise environmental impact while achieving operation excellence and thus promote business sustainability.
Cutting-Edge Trends and Shared Intelligence
The World Cargo Symposium was held from Tuesday (March 12) to Thursday (March 14) at the AsiaWorld-Expo. The Financial Secretary, Mr Paul Chan, attended the first day programme and shared with a record breaking 1 900 representatives from airlines, freight forwarders, ground handling service providers, shippers, and regulatory agencies from around the world Hong Kong’s latest trends and edges in the air cargo industry. The IATA hosted a series of summits and workshops this Monday (March 11) and the together with the Symposium, which featured various topics focusing on the latest trends in the cargo industry, including discussions on technology and innovation, safety and security, e-commerce, and sustainable development, provided industry leaders with a platform to exchange ideas and explore upcoming developments and opportunities.
Opening ceremony of the IATA World Cargo Symposium 2024
An Important Year for HK Airport Development
Although I could not join the Symposium due to other official duties, I feel very honored that Hong Kong is the host of this year’s Symposium. Industry players from around the world could see for themselves Hong Kong International Airport’s recovery and development after the pandemic. I am also very pleased to learn that quite a number of participants showed their recognition to Hong Kong Airport’s effort and strength in both air cargo and air passenger businesses. I am very confident Hong Kong will maintain to be the world busiest airport this year and with our recent and upcoming infrastructure projects, Hong Kong International Airport will continue attain new heights.
I am very confident Hong Kong will maintain to be the world busiest airport this year.
2024 is an important year for the development of the Hong Kong International Airport. The three-runway system is scheduled to be fully completed this year, with an expected annual cargo handling capacity of 10 million tonnes during full operations in 2035. As mentioned in my previous blog last November, the DHL Central Asia Hub and the high-end logistics center “Cainiao Smart Gateway”, developed by Cainiao Network, have already commenced operations. The Airport Authority also signed an agreement with international courier company UPS to develop a new hub at the airport a few months ago. This hub, spanning approximately 20,000 square meters, is expected to be completed by 2028 and will have the capacity to handle nearly 1 million tonnes of cargo annually. All these expansions from world renowned companies in the logistics industry show their vote of confidence to our air cargo industry.
Hong Kong International Airport has consistently maintained a leading position in the industry, with both soft power and hardware capabilities. The success of the World Cargo Symposium 2024 once again demonstrates the rapid recovery of Hong Kong's aviation industry and highlights the city's unique advantages of enjoying strong support of the Motherland and being closely connected to the world.