Hong Kong to look further into cargo plane tyre burst that caused hundreds of flight delays

City leader John Lee says government will scrutinise report on how cargo plane’s hydraulic system failed, leading to long runway closure

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A cargo plane burst its tyre during an emergency landing on Monday, which led to an eight-hour runway closure at Hong Kong International Airport. Photo: May Tse

Published: 1:44pm, 18 Jun 2024Updated: 9:31pm, 18 Jun 2024

Hong Kong authorities will look into whether more could have been done to reduce disruptions after a cargo plane’s emergency landing at the airport triggered an eight-hour runway closure resulting in delays to 450 flights, the city’s leader has said.

Although the situation was handled in line with established emergency protocols and relevant parties adopted measures to ease the impact, Chief Executive John Lee Ka-chiu pledged on Tuesday to look further into how the Atlas Air aircraft’s hydraulic system failed and a tyre burst on landing, leading to the lengthy runway closure.

US-based Atlas Air has been asked to submit a report to the city’s Civil Aviation Department and the Airport Authority about the incident.

Lee said the Transport and Logistics Bureau would “take an active role in scrutinising the report” and see whether “any extra action can be taken by the airline and other parties concerned”, including the authorities.

He added that there was always “room for improvement”, with safety as the top priority in handling any emergency situation.

Lee was responding to media questions before his meeting with the government’s key decision-making Executive Council on Tuesday.