Hong Kong airport’s new air traffic control system is safe and reliable, its world-class numbers are proof

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Air traffic controllers use the new ATMS at the north aerodrome tower of the Hong Kong International Airport, on November 25, 2016. The new system was launched earlier that month. Photo: Dickson Lee

Published: 1:14pm, 12 Apr 2018Updated: 12:35pm, 15 Oct 2020

I refer to the article, “Answers needed over close calls in Hong Kong airspace” (April 10), and would like to clarify the misconception about the performance of the new Air Traffic Management System (ATMS) and “loss of separation” incidents.

Since its full commissioning in November 2016, the new system has, on numerous occasions, demonstrated its capability to handle challenges brought about by adverse weather conditions, holiday traffic peaks and contingency situations.

A record-breaking number of flights were handled last August. The total number of movements handled by the new ATMS between November 2016 and October 2017 increased by 6.7 per cent year on year.

The safety, reliability and smooth round-the-clock air traffic control services of the new system have been acknowledged by the ATMS Expert Panel report last November, the Civil Air Navigation Services Organisation, and senior management of the International Civil Aviation Organisation’s Asia and Pacific Office.

Loss of separation incidents, or breach of an applicable minimum distance between two aircraft, were attributable to a diverse range of factors, including inclement weather, operating procedures and human factors.