(HONG KONG) Dragonair today welcomed the Executive Council’s decision to approve the building of a third runway at Hong Kong International Airport (HKIA).

Dragonair Chief Executive Officer Algernon Yau said: “We fully support the development of the third runway. Following the Executive Council’s approval, we hope the project can move ahead quickly as the existing runway capacity at HKIA is already close to saturation. We believe that the third runway is the only viable option for maintaining Hong Kong’s competitiveness as a leading aviation hub.”

Regarding the funding of the third runway, Mr Yau said: “We believe the project can be self-funded through existing income streams as the number of passengers travelling through the airport continues to grow in excess of all previous forecasts.

“We look forward to learning more about how the third runway will be funded and also hope that Airport Authority Hong Kong will continue to communicate with user airlines regarding the future development of the third runway,” he added.