The Air Traffic Management Bureau of the Civil Aviation Administration of China, the Civil Aviation Authority of the Macao SAR, and the Civil Aviation Department of the Hong Kong SAR met in Macao on 10 and 11 August 2023 for the "Mainland, Hong Kong, and Macao Tripartite Flow Management Technical Working Group Meeting".
The Air Traffic Management Bureau of the Civil Aviation Administration of China, the Civil Aviation Authority of the Macao SAR, and the Civil Aviation Department of the Hong Kong SAR (hereinafter referred to as the "three parties") have completed a meeting in Macao to exchange the latest developments in the air traffic management of the Pearl River Delta Region and discuss measures to further optimize the airspace flow management in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area.
On August 10th and 11th, the three parties held the "Mainland, Hong Kong, and Macao Tripartite Flow Management Technical Working Group Meeting" in Macao. This meeting was conducted in accordance with the regular air traffic management coordination mechanism of the three parties and was also the first offline meeting held in Macao after the pandemic.
During the meeting, in addition to introducing the progress made by each party in the air traffic management of the Pearl River Delta Region, the three parties also focused on the integration of the Hong Kong and Macao regions into the national traffic management system, a topic which has been under continuous discussion in recent years. The Civil Aviation Authority of the Macao SAR expressed a strong desire for this collaborative mechanism, hoping to connect the Macau International Airport to the national traffic management system, enabling unified clearance and minimizing the current practice of voice communication for clearance requests. This would simplify air traffic control coordination and enhance the efficiency of airspace utilization in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area. Currently, the Macau International Airport has already established an "Airport Collaborative Decision-Making System" that allows local operators to access flight status, traffic flow, weather data, and so on to allow them to make operational decisions more efficiently, as well as facilitating future data transmission for air traffic management between regions.
In line with the development plan of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area, the three parties will continue to hold regular meetings and establish close communication. In the aspect of flow management, the three parties will actively explore the application of digital technology in the international air transport market and continue to promote and implement air traffic control solutions for optimization.
The meeting was held at the office of the Civil Aviation Authority of the Macao SAR. The attendees also took the opportunity to visit the Macau International Airport and know about the latest infrastructure projects in the airport and the resumption of flights after the pandemic.
