Legislative amendments for implementing the latest requirements of the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) for the safe transport of dangerous goods (DG) by air will be gazetted on Friday (May 5) and tabled in the Legislative Council on May 10.

     The ICAO's Technical Instructions for the Safe Transport of Dangerous Goods by Air (Technical Instructions) sets out in details the provisions governing the transport of DG by air. A new edition (i.e. the 2023-2024 edition) of the Technical Instructions was already published. A spokesperson for the Transport and Logistics Bureau said today (May 3) that the Air Navigation (Hong Kong) Order 1995 (Amendment of Schedule 16) Order 2023 and the Dangerous Goods (Consignment by Air) (Safety) Regulations (Amendment of Schedule) Order 2023 serve to incorporate the latest requirements of the Technical Instructions in the local legislation to ensure aviation safety. 

     The new edition of the Technical Instructions mainly updated some technical requirements on the classification, packing, marking and labelling of certain DG for carriage by air. Some of the updated provisions include:

(a) revisions have been made to the classification criteria of radioactive material to align with the Regulations for the Safe Transport of Radioactive Material published by the International Atomic Energy Agency;

(b) the packing instructions of lithium batteries have been enhanced through the new requirements of stack test as well as the separation and contact prevention among multiple equipment packed within the same packaging, and the prohibition of damaged or defective lithium batteries installed in engines, vehicles, etc, from carriage by air has been specified; and

(c) the requirement for an enquiry telephone number to appear on the lithium battery mark has been removed.

     "The aviation industry has been consulted and supports the legislative proposals," the spokesperson said.

     The target commencement date for the above legislative amendments is June 30 this year. 

     DG, in the context of air transport, include explosives, compressed gas, flammable liquids, flammable solids, oxidising substances, toxic substances, infectious substances, radioactive materials, corrosives, etc. 

Ends/Wednesday, May 3, 2023
Issued at HKT 16:20

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