The Air Traffic Management System has been providing safe and reliable air traffic services since its full commissioning in November.
This was the finding of the expert panel formed by the Civil Aviation Department to examine the new system.
The panel today published an interim report on the teething issues arising from the commissioning of the new system, and the optimisation and fine-tuning work conducted by the department.
The report said the system has been providing generally smooth air-traffic services within the Hong Kong Flight Information Region and complies with the international safety standard.
It said, although the system experienced some operational hindrances, they were handled professionally and potential safety risks were minimised.
Making comparisons to international best practices and the International Civil Aviation Organisation's safety management system process, the report said the department has in place an effective and established mechanism for responding to different situations occurring after the full commissioning of the new system.
The report also noted the system's availability exceeded 99.9%, fully achieving international best requirements, and none of its fallback systems needed activation.
The panel agreed with the department's assessment it is unnecessary to use the old traffic management system.
Provided everything runs smoothly in the coming weeks, the panel agreed the cold standby mode of the old system can end on May 14 as initially planned.
The report suggested the department prepare for the coming inclement weather and typhoon seasons, and further enhance the display of aircraft positions and minimise conflict alert nuisance caused by false targets.
It also urged the department to continue monitoring Air Traffic Control Officers’ workload and gauge their views to optimise operational procedures and hardware.
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