DANNY LEE DANNY.LEE@SCMP.COM
PUBLISHED : Tuesday, 08 September, 2015, 2:57pm
UPDATED : Tuesday, 08 September, 2015, 3:04pm
Only 41 per cent of flights took off from Hong Kong within 30 minutes of the scheduled departure time in August. Photo: Dickson Lee
Six out of 10 flights were late taking-off from Hong Kong International Airport last month, according to new aviation industry figures, as major mainland Chinese airports enjoyed a better on-time departure performance.
Amid deteriorating air traffic control delays, China’s busiest airports at Beijing Capital, Shanghai Hongqiao, Guangzhou Baiyun and Shenzhen Bao’an airports faired marginally better than Hong Kong.
Only 41 per cent of flights took off from Hong Kong within 30 minutes of the scheduled departure time in August. In Shenzhen, 42.7 per cent of flights departed according to schedule, and Guangzhou had a 44.9 per cent on-time rate.
The Airport Authority has been contacted for comment.
Hong Kong and mainland Chinese airlines are among the world’s worst for on-time departures. Photo: Sam Tsang
In Beijing, 49 per cent of flights followed schedule, but at Shanghai Hongqiao just 41.9 per cent of flights were unaffected by delays. Shanghai Pudong remained jammed, with only a third of flights leaving on-time.
Last week, a Sunday Morning Post study of aviation data from travel industry monitor FlightStats ranked Hong Kong Airlines and Dragonair among the poorest performers based on flights departing within 15 minutes of the scheduled departure time. Both airlines are heavily reliant on flights to the mainland.
Since the start of the year, Hong Kong airport’s performance has worsened.
Figures measuring 14,715 planes taking-off, showed 21 per cent of flights delayed for at least 30-45 minutes, some 11 per cent of aircraft waiting between 45-60 minutes, and more than 25 per cent delayed for more than an hour.
Air traffic restrictions are frequent on the mainland, where only 20 per cent of airspace is available for civil aviation. The rest is controlled by the military.
READ MORE: Airport agony: Hong Kong carriers among world's worst for delayed departures
Delays stemming from the mainland mean Hong Kong and mainland airlines are among the world’s worst for on-time departures, as the number of affected flights has soared.
Travellers face serious delays if planes cannot get to a gate on time. Photo: Dickson Lee
The poor performance at Hong Kong, the world’s third busiest international airport, and the city’s local airlines comes as a HK$140 billion third runway is set to be built, increasing flight movements, adding to congestion, and creating a more complex airspace for planes to navigate.
Civil Aviation Department statistics show 2,518 flights from Hong Kong, or 13 a day, between January and June suffered delays as a result of mainland air traffic control restrictions. Last year, eight flights a day, or 3,249 for the year, were affected. The figures suggest air traffic management delays are rising, following 2,639 delays in 2012 and 2,937 in 2013.
http://m.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/economy/article/1856264/six-out-10-flights-hong-kong-airport-delayed-august-and
