“Reinforcing Hong Kong’s position as an international and regional transport hub is vital to our economic development," he outlined in the budget strategy.

In a statement, Cathay Pacific officials expressed their approval of the budget, especially its focus on infrastructure and in enhancing the country's multimodal services. Improving infrastructure would not doubt include addressing the runway situation at Hong Kong International Airport (HKIA). 

“We are pleased that the financial secretary stressed the need to ensure that HKIA is equipped to cope with projected air traffic growth," said Tony Tyler, Cathay Pacific's CEO. "We support the development of a third runway at HKIA, which we see as an urgent policy priority in the face of runway capacity constraints and growing competition from neighboring hubs."

Tyler added that Cathay is doing its part to enhance the Chinese aviation market.

"We are making significant investments in the Hong Kong hub through strengthening our international network, growing our environmentally friendly fleet, and building a new cargo terminal at Hong Kong International Airport (HKIA) that will substantially increase the cargo handling capacity of the airport," he said.