The Airport Authority Hong Kong (AA or AAHK) is the statutory body (governed by the Airport Authority Ordinance (Cap. 483)) of the

government A government is the system or group of people governing an organized community, generally a state. In the case of its broad associative definition, government normally consists of legislature, executive, and judiciary. Government is a ...

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 city and special administrative region of China on the eastern Pearl River Delt ...

that is responsible for the operations 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 distinguish ...

History

The authority was formed on 1 December 1995 (initially as the Provisional Airport Authority in 1990) through Airport Authority Ordinance and is independent of the government financially. There are plans to corporatise the AA and to list it on the

Hong Kong Stock Exchange The Stock Exchange of Hong Kong (SEHK, also known as Hong Kong Stock Exchange) is a stock exchange based in Hong Kong. As of the end of 2020, it has 2,538 listed companies with a combined market capitalization of HK$47 trillion. It is repor ...

and to partially sell it to the public. A convention and exhibition facility, the

AsiaWorld–Expo The AsiaWorld–Expo is one of the two major convention and exhibition facilities in Hong Kong along with Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre. It was opened on 21 December 2005 by Donald Tsang, the second Chief Executive of Hong Kong, a ...

, on the northeastern corner of the island of

Chek Lap Kok Chek Lap Kok is an island in the western waters of Hong Kong's New Territories. Unlike the smaller Lam Chau, it was only partially leveled when it was assimilated via land reclamation into the island for the current Hong Kong International ...

was opened on 21 December 2005. On 17 January 2005, the AA acquired 49% stake of

Hangzhou Xiaoshan International Airport Hangzhou Xiaoshan International Airport is the principal airport serving Hangzhou, a major city in the Yangtze River Delta region and the capital of Zhejiang Province, China.

, with

HK$ The Hong Kong dollar (, sign: HK$; code: HKD) is the official currency of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region. It is subdivided into 100 cents or 1000 mils. The Hong Kong Monetary Authority is the monetary authority of Hong Kong and ...

1.99 billion, compared to bids by

Singapore Changi Airport Singapore Changi Airport, commonly known as Changi Airport , is a major civilian international airport that serves Singapore, and is one of the largest transportation hubs in Asia. As one of the world's busiest airports by international passen ...

Copenhagen Airport Copenhagen Airport, Kastrup ( da, Københavns Lufthavn, Kastrup, ; ) is an international airport serving Copenhagen, Denmark, Zealand, the Øresund Region, and southern Sweden including Scania. It is the second largest airport in the Nordic coun ...

, Houston International Airport and

BAA plc BAA or Baa may refer to: Letters and sounds * Baa, onomatopoeic representation of the noise made by sheep *Bāʾ, the Arabic letter ب * Baa, the fifth consonant of the Thaana script used in the Dhivehi language Places * Baa Atoll, an administrat ...

. A new

holding company A holding company is a company whose primary business is holding a controlling interest in the securities of other companies. A holding company usually does not produce goods or services itself. Its purpose is to own shares of other companies ...

of Xiaoshan Airport will be formed and be listed on the

. On 17 February 2006, the AA confirmed it will hold 55% stake in a company that operates the Zhuhai Airport, with the remaining 45% owned by Zhuhai Airport. The company will not own the assets or the liabilities of the airport. In 2017, the Airport Authority approved a HKD $140 billion (US$18 billion) expansion for Hong Kong International Airport.

Operations

AAHK is headquartered at HKIA Tower, which is connected to the airport terminal. The Airport Authority employs 2,900 staff in total.

CCTV controversy

In March 2013 an airline passenger witnessed a suspected theft in the baggage reclaim hall of Chek Lap Kok Airport. He reported the theft to airport staff, who did nothing. The passenger then contacted the Airport Authority to enquire on the availability of CCTV footage of the incident. Airport Authority staff responded that the cameras were used only for real-time monitoring. Legislative councillor Alice Mak asked for clarification on behalf of the passenger. It was revealed that the CCTV system does have a recording function. The AAHK added that "the staff concerned, who were not honest in this instance, have been suitably admonished". The case was investigated by the

Office of the Ombudsman An ombudsman (, also ,), ombud, ombuds, ombudswoman, ombudsperson or public advocate is an official who is usually appointed by the government or by parliament (usually with a significant degree of independence) to investigate complaints and at ...

, which released a report in January 2015. The report noted that the AAHK training material instructs staff to answer enquiries about CCTV with the response, "CCTVs are used for real time surveillance only", which is a lie. The Ombudsman alleged that "AA’s statement that the staff concerned were not honest was therefore grossly unfair" and that "we consider knowingly constructing a standard response which contains false information totally unacceptable." The Ombudsman considered the complaint against AAHK substantiated and recommended the authority review its CCTV policies and procedures and provide customer service training that "would not compromise the honesty and transparency of AA." The Airport Authority responded that the incident was isolated, and that it had implemented the recommendations made by the Ombudsman.

References

External links

* {{authority control Statutory bodies in Hong Kong

Government agencies with year of establishment missing Hong Kong International Airport Hong Kong government departments and agencies