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The Civil Aviation Department (CAD), in co-ordination with the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO), is hosting a regional seminar on aerodrome licensing from today to Thursday (November 3 to 5).
The main objective of the seminar is to share the knowledge and experience of participants in the Asia Pacific region on the subject of aerodrome certification and provide an opportunity for them to discuss, review and foster regional co-operation in areas of common interest.
"Aerodrome operation is one of the four major pillars for civil aviation in Hong Kong," the Director-General of Civil Aviation, Mr Norman Lo, said at the opening session.
"The other three are airlines, aircraft maintenance organisations and air traffic management."
Recognising the importance of aerodrome safety and the merit of having an independent safety oversight function, the CAD has been issuing, on an annual basis, an aerodrome licence to the Airport Authority Hong Kong certifying that the airport is safe for use by aircraft.
More than 90 delegates, including those from the civil aviation administrations of Bangladesh, Bhutan, Brunei, Cambodia, China, Hong Kong SAR, Macao SAR, Fiji, Indonesia, the Republic of Korea, Malaysia, the Maldives, Mongolia, Myanmar, Nepal, New Zealand, the Philippines, Singapore, Sri Lanka, Thailand and the USA are participating in the seminar.
"With the active participation of the delegates and guidance by the speakers, I am confident that the seminar will prove to be a very useful forum for the sharing of knowledge and experience in enhancing aerodrome safety," Mr Lo said.
The seminar consists of a two-day meeting during which expert speakers from various civil aviation administrations and airport authorities will speak about their hands-on experiences with aerodrome certification.
A site visit to the Hong Kong International Airport and various service organisations will be arranged on the third day.
Ends/Tuesday, November 3, 2009
Issued at HKT 15:20
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