Air traffic in Hong Kong, in particular air cargo, has recovered to or even exceeds pre-911 levels, Director-General of Civil Aviation Albert Lam says.

Speaking at the opening ceremony of the 4th International Symposium on Electronics in the Air Transport Industry, Mr Lam noted that the total number of aircraft movements from December 2001 to November 2002 was 205,032.

The figure was slightly higher than 194,371 recorded in the 12 months preceding September 2001.

About 2.46 million tonnes of cargo and 34.1 million passengers moved through Hong Kong's airport in the 12 months preceding December 2002.

In the year preceding September 2001, 2.12 million tonnes of cargo and 33.9 million people moved through the airport.

A record amount of cargo - 253,000 tonnes - was handled in November 2002.

According to Mr Lam, the two major local airlines kept expanding their fleets and adding new aircraft types such as the Airbus A340-600 into the Hong Kong Civil Aircraft Register.

"Together with the issue of new Air Operator's Certificates to a helicopter company and a business-jet operator, such diversified developments are most encouraging and challenging," Mr Lam added.

Internationally, the launch of the new wide-bodied Airbus A380 and the introduction of more system elements of the satellite-based Communications, Navigations and Surveillance/Air Traffic Management Systems represents great achievements that have been made in the air transport industry, Mr Lam said.

China's successful bids to host the Olympic Games 2008 in Beijing and the 2010 World Expo in Shanghai and its accession to the World Trade Organisation will stimulate air-traffic grown in the Asia Pacific region, he said.

On a more gloomy note, Mr Lam noted that the global economic downturn forced some airlines to reduce services or suspend operations. The September 11 incident worsened the situation.

Mr Lam urged the industry to take into account the latest developments and critically examine business models from various perspectives, including finance, customer service, security, technologies and operations, to sustain or expand business.

The theme of the two-day symposium is "Continuing Advancement in Electronic Technologies - the Key Factor for Providing Safe and Efficient Air Journeys".

Organised by the Institution of Electrical Engineers, Hong Kong Branch, the symposium has attracted about 120 participants from the Mainland, Macau, the United States, the United Kingdom, Australia, Canada, France, Malaysia and Singapore.