Water
AAHK's "triple water system" helps reduce the airport’s freshwater demand by over 50% each year.
Hong Kong International Airport (HKIA) is well equipped with large-scale water-saving facilities, and Airport Authority Hong Kong (AAHK) implements a number of measures to minimise daily water usage.
Our Story
Total Water Management
HKIA adopts a "triple-water system", which is designed to minimise the use of freshwater at the airport.
Seawater is used for flushing toilets and as the cooling medium in the air-conditioning systems of major airport buildings, substantially reducing freshwater demand at HKIA.
Meanwhile, wastewater from terminal building kitchens, washroom sinks, and aircraft catering and cleaning activities is collected by a greywater collection system and then processed in an on-site wastewater treatment plant for reuse in airport landscape irrigation.
This "triple-water system" approach helps us reduce our freshwater demand by over 50% each year.
Details of AAHK's water management performance are available in our latest Sustainability Report.
Preventing Marine Pollution
AAHK implements various measures to manage cooling water and storm water discharges. These include:
- Deploying extensive petrol/ oil interceptors in all areas where pollution risks exist, including apron areas and car parks;
- Installing spill interceptors at strategic locations within the storm water collection system; and
- Discharging storm water away from potentially sensitive waters, including the southern sea channel.
AAHK regularly monitors HKIA’s impact on the marine environment caused by storm water discharges and construction activities. Monitoring results have shown that cooling water and storm water discharges from the airport do not have adverse impacts on local water quality.
Aircraft Dry Wash
In 2019, AAHK approved Hong Kong Aircraft Engineering Company Limited (HAECO) and China Aircraft Services Limited (CASL) to carry out dry wash on the maintenance apron at HKIA. Aircraft dry wash is a technique that involves little or no water in cleaning the aircraft. Compared with wet wash, dry wash is estimated to use 90% less water and produces less effluent.
AAHK has also worked with airport business partners to develop Dry Wash Procedures to ensure the cleaning processes are performed in accordance with environmental, health and safety requirements.