Speech by STL at opening ceremony of Super Terminal Expo
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尊敬的韓鈞副局長 (Deputy Administrator of the Civil Aviation Administration of China Mr Han Jun), Chairman of the Airport Authority Hong Kong, Mr Fred Lam, COO (Chief Operating Officer) of Informa PLC and Chief Executive of Informa Markets, Mr Patrick Martell, distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen,
Good morning. It is indeed my great pleasure to join and welcome you all to this marvelous event. Hong Kong is very honoured to host this premier global gathering at a historic milestone in our city's developmental journey. Following the success of our event last year, we are thrilled that this third edition of the Super Terminal Expo has seen a significant increase in both participants and exhibition booths. This remarkable growth is a strong testament to Hong Kong's enduring significance in the global aviation landscape. This year's expanded showcase puts a special spotlight on our cutting-edge smart airport initiatives, alongside our robust aviation pillar industries, including aircraft maintenance and recycling, and the rapidly evolving low-altitude economy. With our Three-Runway System unlocking new potentials, and the realisation of our Airport City vision through SKYTOPIA, we are setting new global benchmarks for smart airports, sustainability and seamless travel for passengers. The Super Terminal Expo offers an unparalleled platform to showcase how Hong Kong shapes the future of terminal operations around the world.
Indeed, our commitment to setting these global benchmarks is already recognised by the international community. Just recently, Hong Kong International Airport received two prestigious honours at the Payload Asia Awards, including the top accolade of Global Airport of the Year, as well as Air Cargo Technology Provider of the Year, marking the fourth consecutive year our technological advancements have been recognised worldwide. Furthermore, our outstanding cargo performance and capabilities were once again recognised and affirmed at the 42nd Air Cargo News Awards in London, where we were named Cargo Hub of the Year, proudly retaining the title we won in 2024. Deep congratulations to the Airport Authority Hong Kong for the wonderful performance over the past few years.
Just weeks ago, we unveiled Hong Kong's First Five-Year Plan for economic and social development. This foundational blueprint establishes a clear roadmap to reinforce Hong Kong's position as the world's international aviation hub, explicitly steering our industries toward a high-value-added, green and smart future.
Under this year's theme, "Shaping Asia's Future Transportation Hubs", we are united around three critical pillars: design and development, operations and efficiency, and connectivity and mobility. In this spirit of redefining the future, it is only fitting that we stand here today to witness our next major step forward - a vital new milestone for Hong Kong's international aviation hub.
Today, Hong Kong International Airport is officially launching a game-changing service under the National "Trunk-Branch Connectivity, Whole-Network Linkage" initiative, 幹支通、全網聯, through two pioneering corridors: the Hangzhou-Hong Kong Connect and the Wuhan-Hong Kong Connect. By launching these two corridors, we are integrating with our national transfer platform that has already achieved significant and phenomenal success on a massive scale. To put this into perspective, this transfer platform is already active across more than 260 airports on the Mainland and has cumulatively facilitated over 260 million transfer passengers, allowing tens of millions of travellers to enjoy the unprecedented convenience of one-stop check-in and seamless baggage transfers, the two most critical functions to enhance customer experience.
This is far more than a commercial expansion. It is a policy breakthrough which embeds Hong Kong directly into the national overall aviation architecture, and definitively anchors our aviation legacy and secures our future as the preeminent international gateway connecting the Chinese Mainland, the second-largest economy and second-most-populated country to the rest of the world, of course, through Hong Kong, an important aviation hub. To maximise this advantage, we are actively expanding our global footprint. Under Hong Kong's recently promulgated Five-Year Plan, we have set, among other important targets, a very important target to increase our global aviation network from the existing 220 destinations to 240. With this expansion of global destinations, we can strategise and focus on high-growth target markets such as South America, Central Asia, Africa and the Middle East.
By aligning our global reach directly with the domestic network, Hong Kong is uniquely empowered to act as the vital lynchpin, which is small but serves a very important role, where the country's "inner circulation" seamlessly connects with the international "outer circulation". This lynchpin role of Hong Kong International Airport is absolutely pivotal to Hong Kong fulfilling our unique mandate as a "super-connector" and "super value-adder" for the nation and the world, unlocking tremendous opportunities for the trade and for our aviation industry.
Ladies and gentlemen, as we embark on this transformative chapter, Hong Kong stands ready not just to witness the future of global aviation, but to participate and redefine it. The access is built, the market is ready, and the opportunity to capture prime market share and create lasting value is right in front of us. Now, the stage is set. May I invite all of you to participate and seize these golden opportunities ahead. Together, we can turn visionary blueprints into real actions and shared global success.
Thank you.
Ends/Tuesday, November 3, 2026
Issued at HKT 13:18
Issued at HKT 13:18
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