With the New Year behind us and with the Lunar Year of the Snake just a few days away it seems appropriate to share a few words from Hong Kong with Bob Rogers.

     I am delighted to be able to report that Hong Kong is once again rocking and rolling, both in general and in particular when it comes to matters aviation. To highlight a few of these developments:
     In late 2024 the 3rd runway was opened, adding an effective 50% capacity to our already very very busy airport.
     Coupled with this development much of the huge land side construction at Chep Lap Kok is also rapidly approaching completion, additional terminals, a huge shopping centre and more, all adding to the enhanced land side customer experience
     Adding to the positive news in December, Cathay Pacific announced that this month of January 2025 marks return to pre-Covid levels of operation and that CX is embracing very ambitious plans for opening a number of new routes in 2025.
     So long ago for those of us with reasonable memories to recall the gloom and doom statements from Willie Walsh on behalf of IATA that HK’s future as an international aviation hub was under serious threat as a result of the stringent Covid regulations imposed by the Hong Kong government. To be fair, Mr Walsh I think, has rather gracefully eaten his words in subsequent announcements.
     But from this “Hong Kong hand” it just goes to show that anybody who chooses to bet against Hong Kong will probably regret it.
     Now with the wind now firmly behind our backs we have the announcement just this week by the Airport Authority of “a US$ 13 Billion Skytopia Development which will include a massive Fresh Food Market, an 600 berth Marina, and an Art Trading Centre just to mention a few highlights abuilding.
     And of course Cathay Pacific has announced fleet investments of around USD$ 15 billion of the next few years on new aircraft.
     Turning to the cargo side, it is too early to see if HK is once again the world's busiest air cargo airport but I suggest it would be a brave person to bet against that result.
     Much of the enormous cargo volumes resulting from e-commerce flow through HK. One major middle east carrier alone has 40 cargo flights a week (all widebody) out of HK, while the massive Cainiao Integrated Cargo and fulfilment terminal is facilitating HK’s growth in this sector.
     Ongoing with all these positive trends we have the skywards trajectory of the Greater Bay Area, a 70 million people powerhouse population around the Pearl River Delta equipped with world class infrastructure and overflowing ambitions.
     Already home of many key PRC brands such as BYD ( cars) DJI ( drones) and Huawei ( Communications) and with an annual R&D spend exceeding 5% of GDP we can only expect great things from this part of the world.
     Happy New Year's onwards and upwards for the Year of the Snake, which on a personal note marks the start of my 51st year of life in this awesome city.

     Last Sunday saw the 14th edition of the Hactl forklift driving and pallet building competition being held in glorious winter weather here in Hong Kong. Ten international teams (Air Canada, Finnair, Cargolux, China Southern, Emirates, IAG, Japan Airlines, Nippon Cargo, SF Airlines and Qatar) plus one Hactl team competed against the clock to break down a built up pallet and rebuild a nearby reduced contour pallet, moving the cargo between the two on forklift pallets. Contestants were judged not only on the speed of their activity but also on the volume of cargo they managed to build into the load and then on their skills in forklift driving and on building a top-quality pallet load.
     This is a fabulous event, quite a number of participants have attended on a number of occasions and it is always great to welcome them back and Hactl puts on a great show with a lot of entertainment. Indeed, in addition to the serious stuff, each team took part in a singing and dancing contest, won this year by Nippon Cargo!

     Air Canada set a first, fielding an all-female team, perhaps in future years we will have a special prize for the best women's team!
     Everybody is a winner in any competition emphasizing the importance of safety, but of course it's always nice to have some awards to hand out, these went to China Southern for the overall champion (they also won the pallet building competion) while Japan Airlines won the forlkift driving section.
     Once again I was the chief judge for the pallet building part of the competition; I have to say it is a privilege to carry out this duty in the shadow of one of the world's largest air cargo terminals located on the world's largest air cargo airport, Hong Kong. And hats off to Hactl for putting on such a great event, and for the teams putting so much energy into the competition.
     Another great day in Hong Kong.
Bob Rogers