Hong Kong International Airport (HKIA) has kick-started the phase 1 of Midfield development to cope with the increasing passenger traffic and needs for parking stands in the medium term. The project includes the construction of a Midfield Concourse; 20 aircraft parking stands; an Automated People Mover (APM) extending from Terminal 1; a cross-field taxiway; and other supporting facilities.

With over 35 green features, the Midfield Concourse is designed to be highly environmentally-friendly and aspires to be one of the first BEAM Plus Gold Standard certified buildings in Hong Kong.

As an international and regional aviation hub, HKIA is welcoming more and more new generation aircraft, such as the B747-8 freighter, the B787 Dreamliner and the A380 superjumbo.

All these new aircraft are the latest Chapter 4 jets which are lighter, quieter, more fuel efficient and generate less carbon emissions. In the future, more environmentally-friendly aircraft are expected to enter service, contributing to a greener HKIA.

Hong Kong's aviation industry commemorates its centennial in 2011. An array of celebrating activities will take place to mark this important milestone.

One of the highlights is an "aircraft pull" event organised by the Civil Aviation Department to be held on 17 March 2011. A practice pull has been arranged to help the participants prepare for the big event.

HKIA constantly upgrades its facilities and capacity to meet future demands. In 2010, HKIA completed the HK$4.5 billion enhancement programme for the airfield and passenger terminal which began in 2006. HKIA has started the Phase I Development of Midfield, the only large-scale undeveloped area on the airport island. The HK$7 billion project includes the building of a passenger concourse with 20 aircraft stands, additional taxiways, and the extension of the Automatic People Mover to connect with the new midfield concourse.

HKIA held an annual crash exercise on 20 November 2009 to test its emergency response capability. The exercise, which involved sea, land and air operations, mobilised over 1,200 participants from the Airport Authority, airlines, government departments and other organisations to simulate an incoming flight crashed on landing at 0500 hours. Large-scale rescue work swung into action immediately.

The Automated People Mover (APM) shuttles passengers between Terminal 1 (T1) and Terminal 2 (T2).

In order to extend the APM service to the permanent SkyPier, which is scheduled to open by end-2009, the airport added eight new APM cars in July 2009. With a total length of 3.8 km, the extended APM system will provide passengers with efficient, reliable and comfortable transportation between the pier and T1, which will only take four minutes when it starts operating.