Welcoming More Women into the Industry at Airport Authority Hong Kong

Executive Director of Airport Operations, Mrs. Vivian Cheung describes gender equality at Airport Authority Hong Kong and share her advice for women entering the aviation industry with our communications manager, Samantha Solomon.  

Q. How have/ can women contribute to the COVID-19 recovery in aviation?   

At Airport Authority Hong Kong (AA), all our staff together cooperated for the recovery in aviation. Roughly one-third of the AA’s staff are women. In the fight against COVID-19, both our female and male colleagues are in leading roles, devising various alterations and measures to ensure smooth terminal operations, spearheading the formulation of recovery measures with other international bodies, as well as facilitating the implementation of the government’s quarantine requirements for passengers. They were also heavily involved in the design and execution of stepped up cleaning and public health measures at Hong Kong International Airport to ensure the safety of both airport staff and passengers. 

Three AA staff received the Chief Executive’s Commendation for Community Service from the HKSAR Government in recognition of their outstanding contribution in combating the pandemic. Two of them are our female colleagues. 

Honoured with the Chief Executive’s Commendation for Community Service from the HKSAR government, Ms. Joanne Ma, Assistant General Manager, Terminal Operation & Government Facilitation, is responsible for terminal operations of HKIA. She spearheaded the swift implementation of a series of quarantine measures in the terminal. In particular, Joanne devised a new passenger flow plan within a few hours to facilitate the new quarantine process. 
 

To know more about Joanne’s experience in maintaining smooth airport operations at HKIA amidst the pandemic, please read the full story in HKAirport News (page 8).

 

 

Also honoured with the Chief Executive’s Commendation for Community Service from the HKSAR government, Ms. Kristy Lo, Manager, Terminal Operation & Government Facilitation, was heavily involved in the setup and preparation of quarantine measures in the terminal to ensure they could be executed quickly and meticulously. 
 
To know more about Kristy’s experience in maintaining smooth airport operations at HKIA amidst the pandemic, please read the full story in HKAirport News (page 9).

Q. What positive signs of gender equality are you seeing?    

We are glad to see females taking up various roles at different levels at the airport, covering a wide array of work such as airfield, engineering, aircraft maintenance, pilots, terminal operations, air cargo, smart airport technologies, general management and more. At the AA, we hire employees based on their ability and suitability for the role, irrespective of gender, age, marital status or family status. I hope that our peers in the industry share the same values and we will continue to promote equal opportunities at the airport. 

Q. What advice do you have for women entering the aviation industry?  

We welcome more and more women entering the industry. Over time you will gain more knowledge and experience, so trust yourself and be confident in your ability. Be proactive in voicing out your opinion, take the initiative in projects, and offer a helping hand to your colleagues, no matter male or female.  

Mrs Vivian Cheung was appointed Executive Director, Airport Operations at Airport Authority Hong Kong in December 2019. Since joining the AAHK in 1992, she has held a number of senior management positions in the AAHK. Mrs Cheung is currently a Director of Hong Kong – Zhuhai Airport Management Company Limited and Vice Chair of Shanghai Hong Kong Airport Management Company Limited.