New guidelines spell out new roles for sprawling airports in South China



Hong Kong International Airport in September 2018 Photo: VCG

 



An overview of Hengqin new district in Zhuhai, South China’s Guangdong Province Photo: VCG

The newly issued guidelines for developing a “Greater Bay Area” around the Pearl River Delta have drawn attention to aviation in the region to build a world-class airport cluster.

The guidelines include plans on strengthening and enhancing the status of Hong Kong’s international aviation hub, enhancing the competitiveness of the international hubs of Guangzhou and Shenzhen airports, and promoting the functions of airports in Macao and Zhuhai, giving a clear map of each airport’s future position.

The area, home to five main civil airports in the cities of Guangzhou, Shenzhen, Zhuhai, Hong Kong and Macao, received total passenger traffic of more than 200 million and cargo transport of more than 8.3 million tons in 2018. 

The transportation volume has surpassed that of world-class airport clusters such as those in New York, London and Tokyo.

“The transportation volume of the Greater Bay Area (GBA) has ranked first among global bay area airport clusters, and its development demand will remain strong and has great potential,” Wang Zhiqing, deputy head of the Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC) was quoted as saying on the official website of CAAC.

Different positions

The airports in the region have performed well in terms of passenger traffic and cargo transport in recent years. 

In 2018, Guangzhou Baiyun International Airport handled passenger throughput of 69.74 million passengers, a year-on-year increase of 5.9 percent, and its cargo and mail throughput reached 1.89 million tons, an increase of 6.2 percent. The passenger throughput in 2018 ranked 13th in the world.

By the end of September 2018, Guangzhou had extended its flights to eight cities in the Americas, 11 cities in Europe, five cities in Africa, eight cities in Australia, and 56 cities in Asia. The airport is expected to add 28 routes in the coming years, according to a report from Nanfang Daily on Monday. 

Passenger traffic at the Hong Kong International Airport grew 2.5 percent in 2018 to 74.7 million passengers, according to data on the airport’s official website, adding total cargo throughput grew 1.5 percent to 5.1 million tons in 2018. 

Implementation of the outlines will promote the integration of airports located in the Pearl River Delta region and more closely connect the airports in Hong Kong, Guangzhou, Shenzhen, Zhuhai and Macao, Lin Zhijie, a veteran industry insider, told the Global Times on Tuesday. 

In the past, these airports competed with each other and lacked synergy, and now they can find a clear position in the outlines to discern which should serve as a world-class aviation hub, a domestic hub airport, a business airport or a regional airport, he added. 

Prior to the guidelines, the government proposed building three world-class airport clusters in Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei, the Yangtze River Delta and the Pearl River Delta. The Pearl River Delta airport cluster did not include the airports located in Hong Kong and Macao, and the airport in Shenzhen was only listed as a regional airport. 

However, the new guidelines have lifted the status of the airport in Shenzhen, making Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou and Shenzhen the top four international hubs in the Chinese mainland. 

In 2018, Shenzhen International Airport handled passenger throughput of 49.349 million and cargo and mail throughput of 1.219 million tons.

In recent years, Shenzhen airport has also adopted a generous route subsidy policy that has attracted airlines such as Hainan Airlines to accelerate the launch of intercontinental routes originating from Shenzhen to build an international hub.

A total of 15 international passenger transport cities have been added throughout the year, and the number of newly opened intercontinental routes ranks first among mainland airports, according to Nanfang Daily. 

According to Lin, Hong Kong can consolidate its status as the global aviation hub airport, mainly for international transfer. Guangzhou can serve as a composite gateway hub airport, mainly for domestic transfer to the international market, especially to Southeast Asia and Australia, while Shenzhen is located between the two hubs and can also open intercontinental routes while being a good domestic hub, Lin added. 

Benefiting Airlines 

The outlines have been welcomed by the airlines operating in the area. 

China Southern will continue to increase transportation capacity and expand its route network to achieve basic coverage of its Guangzhou hub to major international cities, according to a note the company sent to the Global Times on Tuesday. 

The company said it will open a Guangzhou-Urumqi-Vienna route and increase flights from Guangzhou to cities such as Rome, Nairobi and Bali starting next month.

At present, China Southern is the airline with the largest market share in Guangzhou. Years ago, China Southern proposed opening more international routes to expand its network overseas.

In 2012, the carrier launched a development strategy to launch more international flights originating in Guangzhou. 

Hong Kong Airlines said it welcomes the outlines as it sets the direction for consolidating and enhancing Hong Kong’s status as an international aviation hub, according to a note the company sent to the Global Times on Tuesday.

The liberalization of intermodal services from the Greater Bay Area to all cities in the Chinese mainland in the future will also extend Hong Kong Airlines’ reach to more mainland cities and open up more new commercial opportunities, the note said. 

Established in 2006, Hong Kong Airlines now covers nearly 40 major cities in the Asia Pacific and North America, and it has signed 85 joint agreements and 20 codeshare agreements with airline and ferry service companies.

“We are encouraged by the further deepening of intermodal connectivity and are confident that this will inject new impetus to the continual development of the Hong Kong hub. We will continue to actively work with other land and sea operators to grow intermodal connectivity within the GBA once specific details are available,” the Cathay Pacific Group said on its official website. 

Since 2018, the group has opened 10 new routes that have not previously operated from Hong Kong, and its network now covers more than 220 destinations in 53 countries and territories.

 

Newspaper headline: Greater Bay Area brings aviation boon