Hong Kong’s John Lee demands thorough probe into airport flight display system failure
- ‘I must again emphasise that Hong Kong International Airport forms an important part of the city’s competitiveness,’ John Lee says
Chief Executive John Lee Ka-chiu said on Tuesday that Hong Kong must strive to maintain its status as an international aviation hub because it was an important part of the city’s competitiveness.
“I am concerned over the flight information display system failure on Sunday at Hong Kong International Airport, although no flights were cancelled, a lot of passengers were affected,” Lee said ahead of the weekly meeting of his key decision-making Executive Council. “We have to prevent similar incidents from happening again.”
The flight information display system breakdown on Sunday forced airport staff to write departure times and gate numbers on whiteboards with marker pens, but some passengers, unfortunately, missed their flights due to the upheaval.
It was not until 7.20am on Monday that the airport announced it had restored all real-time flight data for on-site digital screens, as well as on its website and mobile app.
The events on Sunday came on the heels of an incident on Monday last week in which a cargo plane shut down one of the airport’s runways for more than eight hours after bursting two tyres during an emergency landing, resulting in delays to about 450 flights.
