Airport operator Airport Authority Hong Kong (AA) has officially opened its new HK$10bn (US$1.3bn) Midfield Concourse (MFC) at Hong Kong International Airport in China.
The new building is five-stories high and covers an area of approximately 1,130,000ft². It is located to the west of Terminal 1 (T1) and is linked to the airport via an extension to the existing automated people mover (APM). It contains 20 aircraft parking stands and will eventually be capable of serving 20% of passenger traffic at the airport.
Construction on the MFC began in 2011 with local carrier Hong Kong Airlines conducting the inaugural flight on December 28, 2015. Further restaurants, coffee shops and retail outlets will be introduced to the MFC to provide passengers with a one-stop shopping and dining experience.
Jack So, chairman of AA, said, “The MFC is an important development as it will help Hong Kong International Airport meet the increasing passenger traffic demand. In the past 12 months, the airport has handled 68.2 million passengers, marking a year-on-year increase of 8.3%.
“With its capacity to serve an additional 10 million passengers every year, the MFC will be able to increase the number of flights using airbridges to board and disembark, enhancing the overall passenger experience.”
C K Ng, executive director, airport operations at AA, said, “To ensure smooth airport operations, we will gradually increase the usage of the MFC as planned in the next few months. We expect it will serve about 20% of daily passenger flights when operating at full capacity by next March.