WEEKLY NEWS airport


HONG KONG ADJUSTS TO A SURGE IN CROSS- BORDER DEMAND


“Our flagship facility, AAT COOLPORT, is Hong Kong’s first on- completely


temperature-controlled cold chain centre


capable of maintaining temperatures from ambient down to minus twenty-eight degrees,” Chew said. “For


temperature-controlled


shipments, we provide secure dedicated zones with twenty-four- hour monitoring to protect product integrity.”


Cross-border flows, regulation, and sustainability redefine competitive positioning The evolution of trade flows in the Greater Bay Area is changing how Hong Kong handles consolidation and transshipment. More export cargo is being processed upstream in mainland cities and transferred to Hong Kong via multimodal transportation including sea-air, air-land and dedicated express route for perishables. “Our AAT Dongguan facility embeds cargo acceptance inside the


GBA’s industrial centre,” Chew said. “cargo accepted upstream is moved by sea to the airport’s airside for global connections.” Temperature-controlled trade to and from the GBA is also expanding.


Terminals are developing end-to-end cool chain connections using express routes and simplified customs processes. “For high-value perishables under the Air-Land Fresh Lane


BY Edward HARDY Dangerous goods exposure is rising with the greater prevalence


RISING cross-border e-commerce volumes from mainland China are driving a structural shift in Hong Kong’s airfreight sector. To keep pace with greater demand for speed, security, and specialized handling, terminal operators are evolving from discrete cargo processing toward integrated logistics partners by modernizing processes, adopting new technologies, and upgrading infrastructure. Cargo handlers are reshaping capabilities to retain Hong Kong’s position as a preferred export and import hub for mainland China and the Greater Bay Area.


Handling operations and facility planning Cross-border e-commerce is driving a fundamental


02 redesign of


terminal workflows. Higher shipment counts, shorter processing windows, and a greater share of battery-powered goods are pushing operators toward integrated screening, flexible storage, and automated safety systems. “The e-commerce boom is demanding a new level of operational


agility and integrated service, which AAT is delivering by evolving beyond a traditional terminal model,” Mike Chew, CEO of AAT, said.


High-value cargo and digitalisation Special-handling cargo is influencing capital spending across Hong Kong’s terminals. Pharmaceuticals, semiconductors, and other high-value shipments require precise temperature control, secure zones, and certified operating standards. Infrastructure is only one component of the investment profile, with certification and workforce development forming the other pillars.


of lithium battery shipments. Operators are expanding their training and compliance programmes to meet certification requirements and manage risk inside higher-density warehouse zones. “We became the first cargo terminal operator in Hong Kong to


obtain the CEIV lithium-batteries certification in 2022, certified also with


IATA Competency-Based Training and Assessment


(CBTA) Center accreditation for both corporate and provider levels, enabling professional Dangerous Goods training.” Chew said. “We have established dedicated inspection counters with trained specialists and integrated automated safety features such as sensitive wording detection into cargo management systems. “


scheme, we provide priority handling at COOLPORT and last-mile delivery via our AAS ChinaLink temperature-controlled trucking service network,” Chew said. “GPS tracking, e-locks, and simplified customs ensure seamless access to the GBA.” Regulatory coordination between Hong Kong and mainland


China remains a central challenge. Differences in documentation, inspection, and data infrastructure can create bottlenecks. Joint government initiatives are narrowing the gaps. “Harmonising customs procedures, security protocols, and data


exchange standards is complex,” Chew said. “The Air-Land Fresh Lane scheme streamlines customs and quarantine processes and uses real-time tracking across the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macau Bridge.” Sustainability mandates decisions.


are equipment The reshaping airport’s facility net-zero design pledge requires


significant emissions reductions by 2035. Terminal operators are electrifying ground support equipment, upgrading lighting, and rolling out circularity programmes. Chew said decarbonisation is now embedded in operational strategy. “Since 2018 we have achieved over 30 percent reduction in carbon


emissions,” Chew said. “We have fully electrified our fleet of forklifts and ramp operation vehicles, and aim to electrify tractors for airside operations by 2030, and adapting HVO fuel as an interim solution. “Hong Kong offers a premium, reliable, and intelligent gateway


that serves as a strategic logistics partner,” Chew said. “Our CEIV certifications, AETs, COSYS+, COOLPORT and specialised services reflect this commitment.”


Did You Know ? BY Michael SALES


THE PIONEER OF BASIC HYGIENE industry


‘germ theory’,


IN 1850, in Vienna, the Austro-Hungarian doctor Ignaz Semmelweis was the first person since the Romans to discover that washing


hands dramatically decreased


infections. In the maternity wards, doctors who may have been handling infected wounds or even corpses would attend to mothers and babies,


thus spreading


infections. Mortality rates were very high. His methods were effective, and hundreds of lives were saved. Sadly, his fellow doctors rejected the idea, considering it an insult to their professional integrity. The rejection of his proven hand-washing methods,


which could have saved


many more lives, severely impacted Semmelweis’s mental state. Around the same time, Louis Pasteur’s


which proposed that


disease has a microbial origin, changed the prevailing view of disease causation in the 19th century and was an important discovery for the future of medicine. His rival, Claude Bernard, believed, however, that the ‘terrain’ was more important than the ‘pathogen’, i.e. that a doctor should focus on strengthening the body to fight off disease instead of killing the pathogen. It is said that on his deathbed, Pasteur stated, ‘Bernard was right: the pathogen is nothing, the terrain is everything’. A far cry from those dark days, today’s industry,


pharmaceutical following the


globally destructive Covid-19 pandemic, invests heavily in research, development, production, and marketing of drugs and medicines to cure, prevent disease, or alleviate symptoms.


It is a major global through that research


drives medical and


progress development,


leading to new treatments such as gene and cell therapies. The process includes research, clinical trials, patent acquisition, manufacturing, and regulatory approval before a medicine can be made available to


patients. The secure, sensitive transport of temperature- these life-saving


miracles is a vital sector for air cargo stakeholders. Air cargo’s global share of the pharmaceutical


transportation services


market was estimated at approximately US$86.08 billion in 2025. This market is projected to reach US$124.81 billion by 2030, growing at a compound annual growth rate of 7.71 percent. The broader pharmaceutical


and healthcare sector


is expected to reach a value of US$1.77 trillion in 2025


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