HONG KONG: Flight movements at Hong Kong International Airport on the first day of the National Day Golden Week (October 1) are expected to rise more than 16 per cent over the current daily rate, bringing the number to 634, a spokesman for the Civil Aviation Department said yesterday.

Eight airlines have submitted slot requests to operate 88 additional scheduled and ad-hoc charter flights, or 176 flight movements, from today to October 7, with most applications falling between October 1 and October 5. All requests received so far have been accepted, the spokesman said. At present, there are an average of 545 daily flight movements at the airport. The figure represents more than 90 per cent of pre-SARS level.

The anticipated surge in demand for air transportation can be attributed to more individual tourists coming to Hong Kong from the mainland and local residents spending their holidays overseas during the Golden Week.

Among the additional flights, 65 per cent will operate to and from mainland destinations, while 27 per cent and 8 per cent will be between Hong Kong and Southeast and Northeast Asia.

The majority of the extra services are flights between Shanghai and Hong Kong, accounting for almost 60 per cent of the total. Phuket and Bangkok in Thailand are also among the more popular destinations from Hong Kong in the period.

Last year, 36 additional scheduled and ad-hoc charter flights, making a total of 72 flight movements, were operated around the National Day Golden Week period, with Guilin, Taipei and Sapporo being the most preferred choices of air travellers.

Meanwhile, Hong Kong Airport Authority (HKAA), which runs the airport operation for the government, said that the new ferry service to and from Shenzhen, Shekou, Dongguan and Macao, linking with Chek Lap Kok, would open on September 29. Passengers can go and check-in for flights to other destinations without going through Hong Kong Immigration.

HKAA said it expected that there would be 1 million visitors to opt for the service in the first year and the service would expand to Guangzhou, Zhongshan and Zhuhai later.

(HK Edition 09/22/2003 page1)