The Airport Security Unit (ASU; ) is the

airport police Airport police units are a security police agency assigned to perform law enforcement functions at airports. They provide a wide range of law enforcement duties and responsibilities including patrol, investigation, traffic flow management, and cont ...

of the

Hong Kong Police Force The Hong Kong Police Force (HKPF) is the primary law enforcement, investigative agency, and largest disciplined service under the Security Bureau of Hong Kong. The Royal Hong Kong Police Force (RHKPF) reverted to its former name after the t ...

tasked with the security of the

Hong Kong International Airport Hong Kong International Airport is Hong Kong's main airport, built on reclaimed land on the island of Chek Lap Kok, Hong Kong. The airport is also referred to as Chek Lap Kok International Airport or ''Chek Lap Kok Airport'', to distingui ...

. The ASU was originally formed in 1977 as the Special Action Squad on standby for security at

Kai Tak Airport Kai Tak Airport was the international airport of Hong Kong from 1925 until 1998. Officially known as Hong Kong International Airport from 1954 to 6 July 1998, it is often referred to as Hong Kong International Airport, Kai Tak, or simply Ka ...

and in 1978 following a review it was renamed as the Airport Security Unit and commenced patrolling the airport. In 1998, the ASU moved to the Chek Lap Kok Airport.

Duties

ASU is responsible for

airport security Airport security includes the techniques and methods used in an attempt to protect passengers, staff, aircraft, and airport property from malicious harm, crime, terrorism, and other threats. Aviation security is a combination of measures and hum ...

, primarily targeting

terrorist Terrorism, in its broadest sense, is the use of criminal violence to provoke a state of terror or fear, mostly with the intention to achieve political or religious aims. The term is used in this regard primarily to refer to intentional violen ...

situations such as

aircraft hijacking Aircraft hijacking (also known as airplane hijacking, skyjacking, plane hijacking, plane jacking, air robbery, air piracy, or aircraft piracy, with the last term used within the special aircraft jurisdiction of the United States) is the unlawfu ...

, but in urgent situations, is used as a backup force for situations outside of the airport. ASU officers can be identified by their distinctive deep blue uniform and are armed with sub machine guns as well as semi-automatic pistols. They also have different patches.

Training

Applicants for the ASU need to complete a two phase selection course the first phase is a one-day fitness test and the second phase is over four days and then complete a ten-week training course. The first woman joined the ASU in 2003. The ASU has a training range for firing simunition with corridors, rooms and check-in counters to simulate the airport terminal and also a mock-up of an aircraft interior to simulate a plane.

Weapons

Glock 17 Glock is a brand of polymer- framed, short recoil-operated, locked-breech semi-automatic pistols designed and produced by Austrian manufacturer Glock Ges.m.b.H. The firearm entered Austrian military and police service by 1982 after it was th ...

- Standard issue sidearm for all ASU officers, loaded with 17 round of 9mm Parabellum magazines and carried in a drop leg holster *

Heckler & Koch MP5 The Heckler & Koch MP5 (german: Maschinenpistole 5) is a 9x19mm Parabellum submachine gun, developed in the 1960s by a team of engineers from the German small arms manufacturer Heckler & Koch. There are over 100 variants and clones of the MP5, ...

- Standard issue SMG for all ASU officers. Loaded with 30 round of 9mm Parabellum magazines, the MP5 could be deployed in multiple variants, such as A3, A5 and RAS versions. * KAC SR-16 M4 - One of the standard issue rifles of ASU.

In popular culture

Compared to other units, the Airport Security Unit rarely appeared in the mass media, and there has yet to be any movie or television dedicated to them. However, the Unit was featured occasionally as part of films typically of the Cantonese-action genre: Film *

Fatal Termination ''Fatal Termination'' (also known as ''Death Blow'', original title ''Chi se da feng bao'') is a 1990 Hong Kong action film starring Moon Lee and Robin Shou. Plot A Hong Kong cop's wife seeks revenge after the abduction of her daughter by a ruth ...

(1990) * Purple Storm (1999) * Gen-Y Cops (2000) * Hit Team (2001) *

Connected Connected may refer to: Film and television * ''Connected'' (2008 film), a Hong Kong remake of the American movie ''Cellular'' * '' Connected: An Autoblogography About Love, Death & Technology'', a 2011 documentary film * ''Connected'' (2015 TV ...

(2008) *

New Police Story ''New Police Story'' is a 2004 Hong Kong action film produced and directed by Benny Chan, and also produced by and starring Jackie Chan. The film was released in the Hong Kong on 24 September 2004. The film is a reboot of the ''Police Story' ...

movies *

Rush Hour A rush hour (American English, British English) or peak hour (Australian English) is a part of the day during which traffic congestion on roads and crowding on public transport is at its highest. Normally, this happens twice every weekday: o ...

movies * 2000 AD (film) *

Knock Off (film) ''Knock Off'' is a 1998 action film directed by Tsui Hark and starring Jean-Claude Van Damme and Rob Schneider. The film was released in the United States on September 4, 1998. The title is a double entendre, as the term colloquially refers t ...

(1998) Television * Sergeant Tabloid (2012) * Airport Strikers 「機場特警」(2020)

References

External links

香港警察紀律部隊-ASU機場特警隊
Hong Kong Police Force Special forces of Hong Kong

Hong Kong Hong Kong ( (US) or (UK); , ), officially the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China (abbr. Hong Kong SAR or HKSAR), is a List of cities in China, city and Special administrative regions of China, special ...