The International Air Transport Association (IATA) welcomed the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (SAR) government’s efforts to ease the city’s labour crunch in the aviation sector. This comes as IATA upgraded passenger traffic projections for Hong Kong that now see a recovery to pre-crisis levels by the end of 2024. This revision brings Hong Kong’s recovery in line with expectations for a faster recovery in the Asia-Pacific region.

“The situation is looking bright for Hong Kong. China’s earlier than expected reopening is providing a much-needed boost to the passenger recovery. By the end of 2024, we expect to see Hong Kong’s traffic return to pre-crisis levels. And it is encouraging to see the Hong Kong government preparing for this with measures to ensure that the workers needed to support the recovery are available,” said Willie Walsh, IATA’s Director General.

The Hong Kong government introduced a labour importation scheme to ramp-up the airport workforce by 6,300 workers from the Mainland of China. While demand for air travel has been strong, airlines in Hong Kong have been struggling with supply chain issues and a labour shortage.

“The last three years have been devastating for the aviation sector. As we look ahead to the recovery and prepare for future growth, it is important that the entire Hong Kong aviation community, including airlines, airport, regulator, and government, work together to address the challenges and are well prepared to tap on future opportunities. I look forward to being in Hong Kong in August to meet with various partners and engage in fruitful discussions,” said Walsh.

IATA and the Airport Authority Hong Kong (AAHK) are partnering to organize the Hong Kong Aviation Day from 2-3 August 2023.