Hong Kong air industry appeals for use of non-resident workers to help deal with estimated staff shortfall of 100,000
- Legislator says airport alone needs about 25,000 extra workers to get back to full capacity and problem will worsen when third runway opens
- Foreign staff and use of qualified personnel from mainland China suggested as stopgap solution
Almost 100,000 vacancies are estimated to be available in Hong Kong’s aviation sector and industry figures have suggested recruitment of foreign workers as a stopgap measure to deal with the labour shortage.
Legislator Frankie Yick Chi-ming, who represents the transport sector, on Thursday said the airport alone needed about 25,000 extra staff to get back to full capacity.
“[With the shortage], airline services and passenger traffic have only returned to 60 per cent and 40 per cent of the pre-pandemic level respectively, which affects the progress of its recovery,” he said.
“Along with the completion of the third runway, we estimate the industry will need another 70,000 workers.”
Industry representatives said the vacancies covered a wide spectrum of job types, such as aircrew, baggage handlers, cabin cleaners, aircraft maintenance workers and ground staff.
