Imported aviation labor to help boost flights, cut fares

The plan to import labor may help increase flights to meet demand during the Christmas peak season and help bring airfares down to a reasonable level, says Airport Authority chief Fred Lam Tin-fuk.

Lam said on radio yesterday that flight capacity has returned to about 60 percent of the prepandemic level, but the lack of manpower - especially in ground services - has affected the recovery.

He said in the past three months more than 20 foreign airlines wanted to add more flights to Hong Kong but could not do so because the airport does not have enough ground staff.

The government said last week it plans to import 6,300 mainland workers to fill vacancies at the airport.

Lam said the first batch of workers will arrive in October and receive training for one to two months - in time for the travel peak seasons of Christmas and Lunar New Year.

Lam said experienced local staff can be promoted to supervise the imported workers. They will also get a pay rise.

"After importing foreign labor, existing experienced staff can be promoted as foremen," he said.

"Then they will no longer need to do the work themselves for they only need to supervise the foreign workers. They can also earn more."

Under the scheme, employers will be charged a HK$400 monthly transport fee for each imported aviation worker.

The money will be used to reduce the commute expenses of local staff, involving 10,000 people.

"Each staff can get HK$300 monthly for transport allowance. We believe with other allowances, the transport costs for going to the airport may be lower than commuting to other districts," Lam said.

Hong Kong Tourism Association executive director Timothy Chui Ting-pong said airfares had been up by at least 15 percent compared to prepandemic levels.

"Every position in the airport is short of manpower now," he said. "Only if we have more staff will we be able to add more flights. There will be a more fierce competition between airlines, and thus they will provide more discounts to customers."

Although airfares were slightly lower than last year, when overseas travel had just resumed, Chui said an economy-class ticket to Tokyo still costs about HK$10,000 and the high price is not ideal for local tourism recovery.

The government also announced last week that it plans to import 12,000 construction workers.

Engineering constituency lawmaker Lo Wai-kwok, speaking on the same radio program as Lam, expects the first batch of workers in October.

He said the industry will ensure all imported workers understand the regulations and standards in Hong Kong.

But he said a manpower crunch will still be felt even if all 12,000 quotas are filled.

His comment was backed by Secretary for Development Bernadette Linn Hon-ho, who said the construction industry would see a manpower shortage of 40,000 workers in four years.

Linn, speaking on television, said the industry still needs to fill vacancies through training and technology.

The construction sector trains about 10,000 local workers every year, she added.

eunice.lam@singtaonewscorp.com