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Macau International Airport Rotated to Host Video Conference of 2020 Chairman’s Meeting of Five Airports of the GHM Greater Bay Area (A5) Safeguard Epidemic Prevention and Exploit New Space for Development

2020 / 11 / 27

Macau International Airport Company Limited (CAM) was rotated to host the Chairman’s meeting of Five Airports of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macau Greater Bay Area (A5) on 26th November 2020. The executives from A5 members, namely, Guangdong Airport Authority, Airport Authority Hong Kong, Shenzhen Airport (Group) Company Limited, Zhuhai Airport Group Corporation and CAM attended the video conference. With the use of technology during the epidemic, five airports continues to build communication platforms, to facilitate the cooperation and connection between the five major airports.

The epidemic is still severe globally and has caused huge impact to the aviation industry. In view of this, the theme of the meeting set as “Seeking improvement in stability while doing the best to exploit new space for development”. During the meeting, participants from member airports shared their valuable experience to further improve their emergency response systems, inspire innovative thinking and grow under adversities.

Macau International Airport Company Limited (CAM) Executive Director, Mr. Chu Tan Neng delivered speech to warmly welcome all member airports to participate in the meeting. He pointed out that the airport, as an important hub for air transportation, is also the crucial line of defense against the overseas import cases. Henceforth, the normalizing epidemic prevention and control works needs to be actively carried out and towards to the goal of "prevention of external input and internal rebound", to ensure timely detection, rapid response, precise prevention and control the outbreak while strictly avert the spread of epidemic through channel of civil aviation.  Facing to the current adversities, he believes that a consensus of the industry should be reached and it is strongly required to analyze the situation with the comprehensive, dialectical and long-term perspective; to proactively promote innovation and reformation while accelerate digital transformation; to follow the instructions of the Central Government on implementing the "Six Stability" and "Six Guarantee" as major work tasks and strive for overcoming the impact of coronavirus disease pandemic. To thoroughly implement “The Outline Development Plan for the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macau Greater Bay Area” and in line with the “Implementation Opinions from the Civil Aviation Administration on Supporting the Coordinated Development of Civil Aviation in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macau Greater Bay Area”, the five airports of Greater Bay Area will continue adhering to the cooperation principle: joint hands on mutual cooperation and assistance, stimulating the innovation and collaborative development. Henceforth, a new type of competition and cooperation relationship with the core of win-win will be formed and further promote the construction of a high quality world-class airport cluster in the GHM Greater Bay Area.

Based on the topic research “The emergency response mechanism during the outbreak and the reorganization plan under and after the pandemic”, representatives from each member airport incorporated the factual epidemic prevention works and experience to expound the handling methodologies, measures and policies planning in response to the disease transmission and control. Meanwhile, the emergency plan during the epidemic and related execution programme for expedite restoration of air transportation for both passenger and cargo business were also introduced while the business reorganization plan under the stage of normalized epidemic prevention situation. Amongst, Senior Head of Air Traffic Service Division of Airport Operations Department of CAM, Mr. Hoover Hu has firstly introduced the emergency measures taken by the Macau International Airport (MIA) in response to the new coronavirus and a series of preliminary plans for epidemic prevention and control. He has also elucidated on both medical emergency plan and the corresponding contingency progamme. Timely coordination and close exchange with health departments and airport entities are essential to prevent the spread of COVID-19. Since the outbreak of the epidemic, MIA has been closely exchanging with Airports Council International (ACI) and its COVID-19 task force in Asia Pacific while consulting and referencing relevant guidelines of local and international health agencies, the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) and the Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC) to prudently review and advance existing emergency response mechanism to the pandemic, so as to formulate a comprehensive airport reorganization plan.

During the meeting, the executives of member airports also made speeches for discussion zeroing on the meeting theme. Executive Director of CAM Mr. Lei Si Tai noted that with the effective control of the epidemic and the orderly opening of tourism in China, the civil aviation industry has gradually recovered. Macau International Airport continues to implement a series of health and epidemic prevention measures and formulate systematic planning as well as relevant deployments to place top priority of securing the health and safety of employees and passengers. He emphasized that even if the current epidemic prevention and control enters the normalization stage, MIA must remain vigilant and strengthen self-prevention awareness, on one hand carefully prepare for prevention and control and emergency preparedness in accordance with the contingency plan, on the other hand ensure the flight safety and efficiency of epidemic prevention works, so as to strictly avoid both import and rebound cases. At the same time, he hoped that the five major airports in the region could continue to explore the feasibility of resource sharing in the future cooperation, exchange experience through the platform, study mutual cooperation plans, and establish a post-epidemic bay area restructuring plan. While striving for progress, we will actively develop new businesses and commercial modes to seize opportunities to start anew.

The A5 executives has also mutually agreed that the five airports of the region in Greater Bay Area must serve the dual-cycle development plan of the nation as the most important task, and the meeting memorandum was signed after the meeting. Five airports continue to uphold the core of “Coordination, Integration and Win-Win” and cope with the goals, paths and timetables set in “The outline of Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area Development Plan”, to accomplish the mutual development for building up the world-class bay area and achieving the high-quality development of civil aviation and constructing a higher quality, more coordinated, more sustainable and more internationally competitive world-class airport cluster.

Other participants from CAM included: Ms. Vicki Mou - Director of Corporate Communication and Policy Research Office (CPO), Ms. Adrina Ho - Deputy Director of CPO.