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The Government announced today (Thursday) that the Chief Executive in Council approved a revised scheme for determining airport charges proposed by the Airport Authority at the meeting on October 12, 1999. Under this revised scheme, aircraft landing and parking charges will be reduced by 15 per cent starting from January 1, 2000.

A Government spokesman said, "The revised scheme will be gazetted tomorrow (Friday). We believe that the reduction will greatly enhance the competitiveness of the airport and help Hong Kong to continue to develop as an international and regional aviation centre.

"We expect that airlines will make use of the reduction in airport charges to improve their services and operate more services to and from Hong Kong. This will benefit the travelling public as a result of a greater choice of services and increased competition. It will also facilitate the development of tourism, trade and other economic activities."

End/Thursday, October 21, 1999

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