Hong Kong and Canadian aviation officials have signed a Memorandum of Understanding on mutual recognition of approvals of maintenance organisations in the two places.

This allows Hong Kong-based maintenance organisations to maintain aircraft components for Canada-registered aircraft without seeking additional approval from the Civil Aviation Directorate of Transport Canada, and maintenance organisations based in Canada can maintain aircraft components for Hong Kong-registered aircraft.

Without such an agreement, maintenance organisations must obtain approval from the aviation authority of the country concerned and be subjected to the authority's regulations, audits and standards.

"Partnership between civil aviation authorities through mutual recognition will reduce duplication of approval and audit work by the authorities thus maximising the utilisation of resources of both the regulators and the industry," said the Civil Aviation Department's Acting Assistant Director-General Tsang Yuk-poon.

"In the end, such mutual recognition will improve the quality of aircraft maintenance through the use of common airworthiness standards."