The Airport Authority Hong Kong (AA) began the construction of a permanent pier located at the eastern tip of the airport island in 2006. Designed with the provision of eight berths (four at present) and a maximum capacity for eight million annual passengers, the 16,500 square meters permanent SkyPier is eight times the size of the temporary facility.
The airport’s Automated People Mover (APM) system has now been extended to the SkyPier, shortening the time for passengers to travel between the ferry pier and Terminal 1 to about four minutes — half of the time previously required. The SkyPier is also equipped with 20 airline check-in desks and five security screening channels, which can be expanded to meet growing demand.
The 20,000 square meters North Satellite Concourse is built to serve the rising number of narrow-bodied aircraft using HKIA. With the 10 extra bridge-served parking stands, more passengers flying single-aisle airplanes will be able to embark and disembark using air bridges and avoid the potential inconvenience of being exposed to inclement weather conditions when compared with using remote bays, which are not served by air bridges. With the new concourse, fewer than 10 flights now need to park at remote bays every day, compared to 40-50 in the past.
Marvin Cheung Kin-tung, chairman of the Airport Authority Hong Kong (AA), said that the new SkyPier and North Satellite Concourse are part of HKIA’s near-term growth projects to enhance service levels and meet future demand.
