To help the aviation industry save on fuel costs, the Civil Aviation Department (CAD) has made available a shortened flight path which will save minutes of flight time for flights landing at the Hong Kong International Airport (HKIA).

Director-General of Civil Aviation Norman Lo Shung-man said yesterday that as much as seven minutes of flight time can be saved.

A Cathay Pacific Boeing 777 taxing for take-off at the Hong Kong International Airport. File Photo

Lo reiterated that the standard distance between flights will remain the same under the new arrangement so as to ensure safety, and the original route will still be available for use should the new flight path is congested.

Meanwhile, the CAD has recently given the green light to some airlines to raise fuel surcharges.

Lo stressed that the approved increases are far less than what the airlines demanded.

He added it is likely that various airlines will apply for further increases when the CAD reviews the surcharges in August.

He said conducting a surcharge review on a monthly basis instead of once every two months which is the current practice will make it difficult for both the CAD and the industry to adapt to.

Meanwhile, Cathay Pacific Airways said the soaring oil price has drastically pushed up its operating costs.

"Fuel now constitutes over 40 percent of our operating costs," a spokesperson said.

The airline has yet to decide if it will appeal for higher fuel surcharges two months later.

In another development, Lo said the CAD will upgrade the city's navigation system in four years to cater for the increasing volume of air traffic.

Lo added whether there will be a third runway depends on the results of an assessment to be conducted by the Airport Authority.

The assessment, which will focus on the runway's impact on the environment, is scheduled to be completed by 2010.

Meantime, Lo revealed that over the past two months, the CAD has been conducting conferences and simulation tests to prepare for the Olympic equestrian events to be held in August.

The tests included the simulated landing of a flight with horses onboard, and the adoption of contingency measures under bad weather.

The tests will be completed by next month.

(HK Edition 06/19/2008 page1)