Higher PSC on Flights from Hong Kong Still Compares Favorably with Cities Worldwide

The rise in the passenger security charge or PSC from the previous HK$33 took effect for tickets issued on or after June 1 2014; tickets issued before June 1 are not subject to the new HK$45 charge even if the date of travel is after this date.

It is the first adjustment in the charge since 2002. Airport Authority Hong Kong said the increase was made to recover the incremental costs incurred from the deployment of more manpower and upgrading of technologies over the years to satisfy the additional security requirements for access control and security screening.

Ngurah Rai International Airport on Bali raised its passenger service charge for international flights from Rp150,000 to Rp200,000 (around US$17) on April 1 2014 and will raise the charge for domestic flights from Rp40,000 to Rp75,000 (around US$6.40) on August 1. It said the increases were related to expanded airport facilities.

In a statement announcing the adjustment in the Hong Kong passenger security charge, Airport Authority Hong Kong said: 'The adjustment is deemed necessary to recover the additional costs associated with these security measures and is in line with the principle of “user pays, cost recovery” as provided in the Hong Kong Aviation Security Programme.'

The passenger security charge is collected directly from passengers departing on flights out of Hong Kong International Airport.

Stating that the adjusted charge level had the support of the Board of Airline Representatives in Hong Kong, Airport Authority Hong Kong said the new level was reasonable and comparable with the security charges levied at other international airports.

International Air Transport Association figures (September 2013) show a security charge equivalent to HK$30 at Sydney Airport, HK$39 at Tokyo's Narita International Airport, HK$49 at Singapore Changi Airport, HK$88 at Frankfurt Airport, HK$118 at Paris-Charles de Gaulle and HK$131 at Amsterdam Airport Schiphol.

A major aviation hub serving more than 100 airlines which fly to Hong Kong from points the globe over and the home-base of Hong Kong Airlines and sister carrier Hong Kong Express, Hong Kong International Airport was named the world's fourth best and Asia's third best airport in Skytrax's 2014 World Airport Awards, after Singapore Changi Airport, South Korea's Incheon International Airport and Germany's Munich Airport.

Hong Kong's airport is even somewhat of a tourist attraction in itself. In a recent online story, CNN included the world-class facility at number eight in a list of '10 things Hong Kong does better than anywhere else'. The story featured some of the sights and sounds synonymous with a stay in Hong Kong and Hong Kong International Airport surely counts among these.

In what was a record breaking 2013 the airport handled over 59.9 million passengers and 372,040 aircraft movements, representing annual growth of 6.1 per cent and 5.8 per cent respectively. Cargo throughput rose 2.4 per cent year-on-year to reach 4.12 million tones, making it still the world's busiest cargo airport.

Figures for the first four months of 2014 show continued growth for the airport, with 20.4 million passengers (representing year-on-year growth of 6.4 per cent) and 1.4 million tones of cargo (growth of 5.6 per cent) handled and flight movements numbering 126,595 (growth of 6.3 per cent).

In the single month of April passengers totaled 5.4 million (up 9.5 per cent), cargo was 362,000 tones (up 6 per cent) and there were 32,700 flight movements (up 7 per cent). The growth in passenger traffic was mainly due to a 30 per cent year-on-year growth in Hong Kong resident traffic, with travel to and from Taiwan, mainland China and Japan posting the most significant increases.

Locally-based Hong Kong Airlines is one carrier that features all three of these destinations in its route network, serving 17 points in mainland China alone. This includes flights from Hong Kong to Shanghai, Beijing, Hangzhou, Xiamen, Nanning, Nanjing, Chengdu, Guilin, Fuzhou and Harbin.

Mainland China is the main visitor source market for Hong Kong, in 2013 accounting for 40,745,277 of the year's total arrivals of 54,298,804.