Minutes of the 9 th Meeting on General Aviation / Business Aviation (GA/BA) Slot Management at Hong Kong International Airport (HKIA)

Transcription

1 Minutes of the 9 th Meeting on General Aviation / Business Aviation (GA/BA) Slot Management at Hong Kong International Airport (HKIA) Date: 12 Jul 2018 Time: Venue: Present: 1430 hours OB Room 608, CAD Headquarters, 1 Tung Fai Road, Lantau, Hong Kong CAD Mr. Alan SHUM (Chairman) Mr. ST CHEUNG Ms. Alice CHAN Mr Michael YUEN Miss Birdie YUEN Mr. Marco FUNG Ms. Jessica WONG (Secretary) Assistant Director-General of Civil Aviation Chief Operations Officer Senior Operations Officer Senior Operations Officer Operations Officer Operations Officer Ag. Operations Officer AAHK Mr. Thomas LI Ms. Sanna TAM Ms. Janice SHIU Mr. Edward HO Mr. Kevin LEE Assistant General Manager, Airfield Manager, Airfield Assistant Manager, Airfield Senior Operation Officer, Airfield Senior Operation Officer, Airfield GA/BA Industry Ms. Sheree CHEUNG Director of Administration and Business Development / HKBAC Mr. Chris BARROW Director of Flight Operations / HKBAC Mr. Calvin SOONG Mr. Joe LI Mr. Simon FU Mr. Steven CHENG Customer Service Manager / HKBAC Senior Flight Dispatch Officer / Asia Jet Manager, Operations Services / Aegle Aviation Chief Executive Officer / Aerolatte Business Jet Solutions Limited Page 1 of 10

2 Mr. Jerry WONG Ms. Jade WONG Ms. Bridget CHAN Ms. Jenny GUAN Mr. Hulk CHAN Mr. Dennis WU Mr. Kelvin MONG Mr. Tay SHANG HAN Mr. Alex LAW Mr. Mike WALSH Ms. Angel LAI Mr. Alvin SHUM Mr. Boris CHAN Mr. Jack Tsui Chief Consultant / Aerolatte Business Jet Solutions Limited Client Services Officer / Brilliant Jet Limited Managing Director / Brilliant Jet Limited Operation Coordination Manager / Business Aviation Asia Ltd. Chart and Contract Manager / Business Aviation Asia Ltd. General Manager / Bravo Aviation Ground Handling Manager / Bravo Aviation Operations Control Department / Executive Aviation Taiwan Corp. Ground Operations Manager / Gama Aviation Chief Executive Officer / Hong Kong Jet & AsBAA Manager, Flight Dispatch / Hong Kong Jet Flight Dispatch Supervisor / Hong Kong Jet General Manager, Flight Operations Support / HK Bellawings Jet Limited Flight Operations Support / HK Bellawings Jet Limited Ms. Sandy LO Director of Dispatching, Scheduling and Administration / ICTSI - Aviation Ms. Yuki YEUNG Deputy Operations Manager / Jet Aviation Business Jets (HK) Ltd. Mr. Simon LO Operations Manager / Jet Aviation Business Jets (HK) Ltd. Mr. Matthew NG Flight Operations Officer/ Lily Jet Mr. Eric MAN Capt. William GODWARD Mr. Alan LEE Mr. Terence VAN Mr. David CHANG Ms. Jennie GU Mr. West CHUN Mr. Phil BALMER Mr. Karson WONG Ms. Jess LING Senior Operations Controller / Lily Jet Director of Flight Operations / Metrojet & HKBAC Manager, IOC / Metrojet Limited Flight Dispatch Manager / Macau Jet Director of Customer Flight Support / Saint Royal Aviation Operations Supervisor / Saint Royal Aviation Manager, Operations / Sino Jet Management Limited Director Maintenance / TAG Aviation & AsBAA Manager Ground Operations / TAG Aviation Dispatch Supervisor / TAG Aviation Page 2 of 10

3 Mr. Johnny LAI Ms. Rita FENG Operations Manager / The ASA Group Operations Supervisor / UAS International Trip Support Ms. Alice LAM Senior Customer Relationship Manager / UAS International Trip Support Ms. Sarah KALMETA Regional Director of Operations - APAC / Universal Weather & Aviation, Inc. & AsBAA Mr. Edmond YUEN General Manager, Asia-Pacific Operations Center / Universal Weather & Aviation, Inc. Mr. Conan SHE Operations Liaison / Vistajet Mr. Aron CHEN Mr. Freddie FU 1. Introduction Manager of Operation Department / YouJet Management Limited Senior Operation Officer / YouJet Management Limited Action 1.1 The Chairman welcomed all participants to the meeting. 2. General overview of GA/BA operations 2.1 Ms. Jessica WONG (CAD) reported that the number of GA/BA operations remained stable since January (Page 4 of Attachment 1 refers). 2.2 Ms. Jessica WONG (CAD) went on to report the night slots utilisation for the period January to June 2018 (Page 5 of Attachment 1 refers). The average utilisation of L and L night slots were 39% and 19% respectively. 3. Tail Specific Penalty Scheme 3.1 Ms. Jessica WONG (CAD) reported the overall performance of GA/BA operations since the implementation of the Tail Specific Penalty Scheme on 1 September 2017 to 30 June 2018 (Pages 7-10 of Attachment 1 refer). 3.2 Mr. Mike Walsh (AsBAA) expressed that in recent weeks operators had had troubles obtaining slots via OCS even though the system showed that there was a slot available, and wondered whether it was a system glitch. Ms. Jessica WONG (CAD) explained that it was a result of the total movements allocated for those days had reached the airport s maximum daily movement limit. Ms. WONG encouraged users to also make use of the Ask Us function on OCS to apply for slots for last minute operations. 3.3 Mr. Phil BALMER (AsBAA) questioned whether users who were unable to obtain an available slot on OCS would then have priority on their Ask Us request. Ms. Jessica WONG (CAD) further explained that there were many constraints governing the availability of runway slots, with runway capacity and maximum daily movement being two of them. She emphasised that while a slot Page 3 of 10

4 might appear as green on the system indicating that the hourly capacity had not been reached, a slot would not be available if other constraints such as the maximum daily movement were not met. 3.4 Mr. Karson WONG (TAG Aviation) shared that in some instances, after returning a slot that was obtained before the reason code QT (indicator that the maximum daily movement has been met) came into effect for the day of operation, it was impossible to re-obtain the slot even though OCS showed that the slot for the hour was still available. Ms. Jessica WONG (CAD) explained that if a cancellation led to a drop in the daily movement to below the maximum movement limit, it would be possible for a user to obtain slots in any available hour up to the maximum daily movement limit. The situation described would likely be a result of some other users obtaining a slot in another hour after the cancellation which would have once again triggered the QT for the day. 3.5 Mr. Karson WONG (TAG Aviation) enquired on the meaning of the reason code UA. Ms. Jessica WONG (CAD) explained that UA could be triggered for various reasons so users were encouraged to write to HKSCO if they encounter UA. 3.6 Mr. Phil BALMER (AsBAA) commented on the low utilisation rate shown in the presentation and questioned whether many of the available slots were released very close to the operation date. Ms. Jessica WONG (CAD) clarified that the utilisation rate shown was only on night slots, for which the number of available slots was fixed. She advised that HKSCO could produce figures that show how the slot pool changes in a typical 14-days cycle as presented in the 8 th Meeting if it was helpful to the industry. Mr. BALMER welcomed the suggestion and remarked that it would help members and the industry understand their own behaviour. CAD 4. AOB 4.1 GA/BA Occurrences and Long ROTA Mr. ST CHEUNG (CAD) shared with the meeting some recent incidents of nonadherence to ATC instructions and published approach and departure procedures and some recent occurrences of long runway occupancy time for arrivals (ROTA) by GA/BA aircraft (Attachment 2 refers). Mr. CHEUNG reiterated the importance of adhering to ATC instructions and published approach and departure procedures, which could have aviation safety implications; and also of vacating the runway as quickly as practicable, which could affect the feasibility of marginally increasing the runway capacity in the future. He requested members to inform operators of such incidents and occurrences and promulgate the relevant information to GA/BA pilots as per pages 10 and of Attachment 2. GA/BA Industry Mr. Mike Walsh (AsBAA) shared that AsBAA had created a pilot-to-pilot peer group chaired by Airbus and the relevant information could be shared in the peer group. Page 4 of 10

5 4.2 Three Runway System (3RS) and GA/BA i) Mr. Phil BALMER (AsBAA) remarked that while the HKIA was expanding with the 3RS under way, much of the focus had been centred round airlines. He observed that there was no discussion or consultation on GA/BA slot situation under 3RS, and expressed that the GA/BA industry would like to be part of the budget of the 3RS plans. ii) Mr. BALMER and Mr. Mike WALSH (AsBAA) also questioned whether the infrastructure for GA/BA would be expanded under 3RS. The Chairman remarked that AAHK had gone through a series of briefings to airport tenants and commercial operators before finalizing the plans for the 3RS, and commented that since the construction process was well under way it might not be possible for further changes to be incorporated. Further to the Chairman s comment, Mr. WALSH requested for confirmation that there would not be a second fixed-based operator (FBO) at HKIA under the 3RS. Mr. Thomas LI (AAHK) responded that he did not have any information to give a definitive answer, but assured the industry that just as AAHK was already working with the CAD to monitor the runway movement of GA/BA operations, they would also do the same on the parking situation of GA/BA aircraft. Mr. WALSH further enquired on what the process would be if another FBO was to be considered, and Mr. LI responded that he also did not have any information on the matter. The Chairman suggested AsBAA to write to Mr. LI on the matter such that Mr. LI could pass it to the appropriate person to follow up. AsBAA / AAHK 4.3 GA/BA Slots in the Night Period i) Mr. Phil BALMER (AsBAA) expressed that while airlines were allocated QC to operate during the night period, GA/BA operators were only allowed to operate with aircraft with an EPNdB of 84 or below, i.e., those that are of 0 QCconsumption. He opined that the GA/BA industry should also be allocated some QC, and the aircraft a corresponding QC value, so that GA/BA operators with aircraft of over 84 EPNdB would also be able to operate in the night period. Mr. Thomas LI (AAHK) explained that the current arrangement in place that allowed the four aircraft type groups which only had their arrival legs exempted from the environmental restriction to obtain departure slots in the night period had meant that over 85% of the aircraft types used to operate to HKG were already able to operate within the night period. He reiterated that HKIA had to observe the requirements given by the Environmental Protection Department (EPD), and pointed out that the current arrangement had already addressed the majority of the requirement of the GA/BA operations. Mr. BALMER expressed his appreciation on the effort of AAHK and CAD in trying to facilitate the operations of GA/BA aircraft as much as possible within the framework of what was allowable. He added that while 85% coverage during the night period was appreciated, GA/BA aircraft was very quiet in Page 5 of 10

6 general and the industry would like to see a close to 100% coverage in the future. He pointed out that whilst the airport was currently going through plans of expansion, it was important for the industry to make sure that their needs were also taken into consideration and that the industry would benefit from the expansion of the airport. ii) Ms. Angel LAI (Hong Kong Jet) enquired on the documents required in order to add an aircraft type into the list of exempted aircraft. She quoted an example of a client hoping to operate a Citation aircraft, which had a quieter noise certification than the Gulfstream V, but was unable to do so because the aircraft was not on the exemption list. Ms. Sanna TAM (AAHK) advised operators to write to AAHK if they would like to check whether an aircraft type is exempted during the night period. Ms. TAM supplemented that the inclusion or not of a particular aircraft was not based on the documents submitted but rather in accordance with the classification in the database. 4.4 Grey Charter Mr. Phil BALMER (AsBAA) brought to the attention of CAD that some Grey Charter operations had been observed where GA/BA aircraft was being operated as a charter service without the necessary permission. He pointed out that this problem was observed around the world and was not unique to Hong Kong, but proposed that CAD could conduct random ramp checks on operators so as to deter them from continuing with this malpractice. The Chairman took note of the observation and suggestion. He explained that currently resources were already stretched by SAFA inspections but expressed that he would relay the message to the CAD division responsible for conducting ramp checks and would also work with HKBAC on this issue. CAD 4.5 Aviation Academy Ms. Sarah KALMETA (AsBAA) shared that AsBAA Discovery, an AsBAA chapter which helped students understand career opportunities within the business aviation sector, was currently working with the Aviation Academy on a summer camp for students to work in different entities related to business aviation. She expressed that AsBAA would like to take this cooperation further and create more business aviation focused modules in the Academy to facilitate staff training needs within the industry. Mr. Thomas LI (AAHK) remarked that he understood from colleagues in the Academy that the two parties were already in communication on the matter, and assured that AAHK management was supportive of such collaboration. 4.6 Performance-based Communication and Surveillance (PBCS) Mr. Mike WALSH (AsBAA) relayed a comment raised by the International Business Aviation Council (IBAC) that there was lack of readiness in the APAC Regions in implementing the PBCS in accordance with the ICAO deadline by Page 6 of 10

7 the end of March The Chairman asked AsBAA to forward the relevant information to him so that he could assist in passing this to the relevant personnel. AsBAA / CAD [Post-meeting note: Ms Sarah Kalmeta sent background information about the request to the CAD and CAD forwarded a copy of the Aeronautical Information Circular AIC 08/18 on PBCS Implementation in APAC Regions to AsBAA for reference.] 4.7 Slot Application Process i) Ms. Angel LAI (Hong Kong Jet) enquired on the possibility of simplifying the process of applying for extended parking as currently operators were only allowed to extend parking once without having to obtain a departure slot that they did not actually need. Ms. Sanna TAM (AAHK) explained that under the current arrangement operators were already allowed to park at the airport for up to 28 days. She expressed that aircraft operators were not encouraged to park at the airport for a prolonged period due to constrained parking resources. Ms. LAI clarified that they were not hoping to extend the 28 days period but rather eliminate the need to obtain an unrequired departure slot to extend parking more than once within the 28 days period. Ms. TAM explained that the current requirement in place was worked out in order to balance the needs of different users, and opined that in the absence of the control measure, resources would be taken up by extended parking with requests from other users not addressed, and the above would be undesirable. ii) Mr. Boris CHAN (Bellawings) enquired on how Ask Us requests were handled during weekends and long holidays. Ms. Jessica WONG (CAD) assured the operators that HKSCO would also respond to Ask Us requests over weekends and long holidays, but reminded operators that as stated in the implementation notice of the Ask Us arrangement, operators would not get any response on their requests if there was no slot available. The Chairman supplemented that the coverage over weekends would be intermittent. 4.8 Airport Collaborative Decision Making (A-CDM) Access Mr. Boris CHAN (Bellawings) enquired on A-CDM accessibility for GA/BA operators and explained that Bellawings lost A-CDM access when AAHK took over the system in January He believed that as an active operator in Hong Kong operating with Hong Kong registered aircraft, Bellawings should be given access. He shared that he had tried to get in touch with the relevant department within AAHK to resolve the issue but had not received any response thus far. Mr. Thomas LI (AAHK) advised that he would assist in putting Mr. CHAN in contact with the relevant colleague as needed. AAHK [Post-meeting note: The enquiry had been referred to the responsible colleague in AAHK for handling] Page 7 of 10

8 4.9 Kai Tak Heliport The Chairman invited Mr. Michael YUEN (CAD) to give an update on the development of the Kai Tak Heliport, which could potentially be used as a base for cross-boundary helicopter operations. Mr. YUEN reported to the meeting that the proposal to co-locate the GFS forward base and the cross-boundary heliport at Kai Tak put forward by the Government had been confirmed by LegCo. He advised that in undertaking the design of the proposed GFS base, every care had been taken to ensure the feasibility of the co-location with the cross-boundary heliport when it is pursued in future. Among the facilities, the take-off landing pad would be shared between future heliport users and GFS. The plan had also included one designated parking pad for cross-boundary heliport and the flexibility of provision of a standalone refuelling facility if so required in the future. The whole office area at 1/F of the Kai Tak Cruise Terminal reserved originally for the cross-boundary heliport would continue to be solely used by the future crossboundary heliport for the provision of relevant customs, immigration and quarantine facilities as well as passenger lounge and office(s). Mr. Mike WALSH (AsBAA) observed that the Government had earlier in the year conducted a tender request for the study on the development of crossboundary and domestic helicopter services. Mr. YUEN corrected that the Government had only conducted a market research on the said study for information collection purpose. The Chairman added that much of the development of the heliport was still depended upon other developments on both the Mainland side and within Hong Kong, and Mr. Yuen supplemented that the Government would keep in view of the situation and the stakeholders would be consulted on the future development of the cross-boundary heliport. Mr. WALSH requested clarification on the responsible party within the Government for the above development. The Chairman advised that it would be led by the Transport and Housing Bureau (THB), with CAD as a department under THB Development under Greater Bay Area Initiatives Mr. Mike WALSH (AsBAA) expressed that AsBAA would welcome the Government to pursue a lead on urban air transportation initiatives in coordination with its GA/BA partner cities across in the Mainland and in Macau. He observed that while there had been much discussion on the possible development, there did not seem to be much action taken. He stressed that the GA/BA industry would be keen and ready to help if something was moving forward. The Chairman explained that one of the reasons why there seemed to be little action was that the situation was still very fluid. He shared that the Government had been in touch with the Mainland authorities on these matters, but for the time being many issues were still in exploratory terms. He assured that if a concrete plan with a more definitive direction was to come up the stakeholders would certainly be involved. Page 8 of 10

9 4.11 Mr. Phil BALMER (AsBAA) supplemented on his earlier comments on the 3RS at HKIA and expressed that as an industry, they had very little information as to what the plan for HKIA would be going forward. He understood that the briefings from AAHK were done to parties who had a contract with HKIA directly, and as such the only member of AsBAA who was invited to the briefing was HKBAC. He expressed that while the industry had worked with HKBAC closely, the majority of the industry was not informed of what had or would happen, and he questioned whether the industry would get a briefing on the subject in order to understand what the plans would be going forward. He reiterated that the industry wanted to be part of the development and would like to get a briefing to understand further. In response to Mr. BALMER s comment, the Chairman requested Mr. Thomas LI (AAHK) to check whether there would be any avenues that the GA/BA industry could be briefed on the stages of development of the 3RS at HKIA, whether in the form of a briefing or sharing of materials or papers that were previously distributed. Mr. LI explained that an open consultation was carried out prior to the commissioning of the works on 3RS, and advised that the future direction in engaging key stakeholders, including the GA/BA industry, would be similar. The Chairman clarified that the industry was also hoping to learn more about the existing development along with the future development. AAHK Mr. BALMER explained that while the industry understood that they were already late in the game to comment on the layout of taxiway or runway, they believed there would be other issues such as noise and slots that would be related to the everyday operations of the industry that they could still be involved and be consulted on. He opined that the coming few years would be the only opportunity that the industry could ensure their needs would be heard, and expressed that the industry would be keen to participate on the discussion of other pending items. Mr. Mike WALSH (AsBAA) opined that while GA/BA operations were omitted from the plan of the 3RS in order to keep the size of the application within a restricted framework, there could be room for discussions on whether it would be possible to accommodate a second FBO within the current framework given the necessary approvals were already obtained. He added that the industry was standing by to look at those opportunities as well as to discuss how these possible developments could be funded. He shared that with the little involvement that the industry had had in the plans of the 3RS, they were under the impression that there was already a glass ceiling that AAHK was willing to allow GA/BA operations to grow to, and that glass ceiling seemed to have already been met Mr. Mike WALSH (AsBAA) shared that Macau Airport s master plan for GA/BA infrastructure was completed pending approval from the Mainland government. He expressed that the industry would like to see more coordination between HKIA and Macau Airport both on the ground and in the air. He shared that the industry was currently in talks with Heathrow who was imposing further constraints on GA/BA aircraft and commented that HKIA should work with other common GA/BA ports to resolve such issues. Page 9 of 10

10 The Chairman explained that Hong Kong had been working very closely with Macau, especially in the air. He clarified that in regards to slots approvals, every airport would have their own considerations and CAD and AAHK would be in no position to interfere. The Chairman supplemented that CAD was also working with HKBAC to look into means to facilitate GA/BA operations in both the Macau Airport and HKIA, which had also contributed to the aforementioned development on the cross-boundary heliport. 5. The meeting was adjourned at 1605 hours. Page 10 of 10