Cross-sea bridge benefits Chinese mainland, Hong Kong carriers

As the world's longest sea bridge, the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge officially opened on Tuesday, the local aviation market has been stirring as the bridge has brought the three cities closer with more opportunities.

A passenger plane flies over the Hong Kong International Airport in September. File photo: VCG

The bridge, connecting the east and west sides of the Pearl River Delta in South China, lies in the region - known as China's Greater Bay Area - which has five airports, Guangzhou Baiyun International Airport, Shenzhen Baoan International Airport, Zhuhai Airport, Hong Kong International Airport and Macao International Airport.

In 2017, the passenger turnover in the five airports exceeded more than 200 million, and the cargo turnover was nearly eight million tons, and the five airports have kept a rising momentum in terms of the passengers and cargo figures in the past 10 years.

In detail, Hong Kong International Airport transported 72.66 million passengers in 2017, up 3.4 percent than the previous year, compared with 65.84 million passengers at the Guangzhou Baiyun International Airport in the same year, which is also up 10.2 percent from 2016, according to their fiscal reports.

Guangzhou Baiyun International Airport plans to open 15 international routes with seven new destinations, and it is expected to have a passenger turnover of 70 million by 2018 with the launch of T2, according to a report from yicai.com.

The opening of the bridge will benefit the local carriers in Hong Kong, especially for Cathay Pacific Airways and Hong Kong Airlines, Qi Qi, an independent market watcher, told the Global Times on Tuesday.

He explained that the travelers from Zhuhai and Macao may possibly fly from Hong Kong, which will reduce business in the Macao airport, and decreasing the number of travelers of Air Macau.

To woo more passengers, Cathay Pacific Airways and Hong Kong Airlines launched more promotional products, such as buying a ticket that will cover a ship ticket to and from the Pearl River Delta and Hong Kong.

"We welcome the improved transport connectivity between Hong Kong and other cities in the Greater Bay area with the opening of the bridge," according to a note Hong Kong Airlines sent to the Global Times on Tuesday.

The direct link between the three cities creates greater opportunities for Hong Kong Airlines, and the company looks forward to flying more travelers between the Greater Bay cities and the rest of the world via Hong Kong, the note said.

Chen Xiaoning, secretary general of the China Civil Airports Association said in an article posted on the industry website of caacnews.com.cn that those airports should adopt differentiated strategies. The Hong Kong airport should focus more functioning as an international transport hub, and the Shenzhen airport should develop itself into a point-to-point flying airport linking China and overseas destinations.