LCQ19: Smart Low-altitude Traffic Management System
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Question:
Smart Low-altitude Traffic Management System (SLATMS) is indispensable for promoting the development of low-altitude economy (LAE). The Working Group on Developing LAE has included 15 pilot projects under the unmanned aircraft system traffic management system demonstrations under "Regulatory Sandbox X" for demonstration. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(1) of the details of the 15 pilot projects under the unmanned aircraft system traffic management system demonstrations, including but not limited to (i) application scenarios, (ii) scope of airspace, (iii) system planning and technical specifications, (iv) communication, navigation and surveillance infrastructure required, (v) electricity and computing power requirements, and (vi) the respective starting and ending time of testing;
(2) whether there are cross-boundary flight operations among the aforesaid pilot projects; if so, of the standard regulations, co-ordinated airspace arrangements, data sharing, customs clearance arrangements, and safety regulatory mechanisms involved respectively; and
(3) as the authorities have indicated that they will make reference to the practices of the Mainland and overseas jurisdictions to conduct technical studies on formulating the conceptual model and requirements for a SLATMS, as well as planning for the requirements of supporting infrastructure, whether the authorities are currently conducting in-depth studies on and benchmarking against the systems of any cities or jurisdictions (e.g. Shenzhen and Guangzhou on the Mainland, or the European Union, the United States, Singapore, etc, overseas); if so, of the details; of the reasons for selecting those cities for reference; and how to create conditions through the relevant studies for Hong Kong to establish a framework which aligns with the regional and international regulatory standard systems?
Reply:
President,
Low-altitude economy (LAE) is one of our nation's strategic emerging pillar industries. The National 15th Five-Year Plan clearly sets out the promotion of healthy and orderly development of LAE. In order to proactively align with the national development strategy, the First Five-Year Plan for Economic and Social Development of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (2026-2030) sets out the objective to position Hong Kong as the Asia-Pacific hub for innovative low-altitude applications as well as the policy vision to give full play to our roles as a leader, connector and illustrator in terms of exploring the development of a demonstration and compliance base for LAE to go global, and advancing the development of cross-boundary low-altitude logistics in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area (GBA).
The reply to the Member's question is as follows:
(1) The Government announced the launch of the advanced LAE "Regulatory Sandbox X" in November 2025 to test five application scenarios that are more technically complex, including unmanned aircraft system traffic management (UTM) system demonstrations. A total of 15 pilot projects under the UTM system demonstrations module have been selected by the Working Group on Developing LAE (Working Group) for demonstrations. The relevant pilot projects have started to be progressively implemented since the first half of this year and nine projects have commenced demonstrations thus far. The demonstration period of each project is around 10 weeks. Depending on the actual progress of individual projects, all projects are expected to complete demonstrations in the first half of 2027. The relevant service providers have been arranged to install their UTM systems at the Civil Aviation Department (CAD) headquarters in batches to demonstrate the relevant systems' functions and technologies (including relevant technical specifications and operational requirements), while allowing the CAD and relevant government departments to accumulate practical operational experiences. The UTM system demonstrations pilot projects cover the management of three phases of the entire operational lifecycle of unmanned aircraft, namely pre-flight flight plan application and authorisation, in-flight real time monitoring and conflict alert, and post-flight data logging and analysis. Given that the projects are of a technical demonstration nature, the service provider will, according to each system's characteristics, arrange demonstrations in different airspace and for different application scenarios, while not involving actual low altitude traffic management operations. The applicants and collaborating organisations of the 15 projects are set out at the Annex.
(2) With its strong industrial foundation and rich application scenarios, the GBA has substantial market demand for cross-boundary logistics of commercial documents, high-end commerce and emergency supplies, thus possessing unique advantages for developing cross-boundary LAE logistics applications. The Working Group is proactively working with the relevant Mainland authorities to foster trial flights of cross-boundary low-altitude logistics projects, including the planning of cross-boundary air route networks, airspace co-ordination, customs clearance arrangements, infrastructure development, data sharing, and safety regulatory mechanisms. The objective is to commence trial flights under the framework of the cross-boundary applications module of the "Regulatory Sandbox X" as early as possible, with a view to progressively expanding the low-altitude cross-boundary logistics network across the GBA.
(3) A robust low-altitude infrastructure is essential to the safe and efficient operation of low-altitude flying activities, in particular under the challenging low-altitude operating environment in Hong Kong with complex terrains and high-rise buildings. In this connection, the Chief Executive's 2026 Policy Address announced that the Government would take forward the technical study on low-altitude infrastructure facilities and commence the development of the Smart Low-altitude Traffic Management System (SLATMS), with a target for progressive implementation from 2028. This will enhance low-altitude airspace management, with the support of relevant monitoring, law enforcement, meteorological observation and three-dimensional spatial data systems, etc.
With reference to the experience accumulated through the "Regulatory Sandbox" projects, the CAD has commenced a technical study on formulating the concept of operations and technical requirements for SLATMS. The study will explore key technical specifications, regulatory requirements, and interoperability frameworks for SLATMS, while assessing essential technical requirements for communications, navigation, surveillance infrastructure and Remote ID technology for SLATMS. To support the efficient low-altitude cross-boundary traffic flow operations in the GBA in future, the technical study for SLATMS will also cover data sharing and interoperability with neighbouring systems on the Mainland.
The technical research for SLATMS will take into account practical experiences of different places and formulate a framework for SLATMS in Hong Kong that is suitable for the local low altitude operating environment, while also compatible with Mainland, regional, and international regulatory standards. In conducting the research, the CAD will extensively make reference to the mature experiences of the Mainland in LAE development and applications, as well as the experiences and best practices in low-altitude traffic management of overseas jurisdictions with more mature LAE development (including the United States, Europe, the United Kingdom, New Zealand and Singapore). The study is expected to be completed in 2027 and will serve as the foundation for the Government to press ahead with the development of SLATMS, thereby providing highly digitalised and automated management to ensure the safe and efficient operation of low-altitude flying activities.
Ends/Wednesday, October 28, 2026
Issued at HKT 19:30
Issued at HKT 19:30
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