Our Hong Kong Foundation (OHKF) has released a research report titled “Laying the Tracks to Future-Proof Hong Kong’s Status as an International Aviation Hub”, which advocates the construction of the Hong Kong-Shenzhen Inter-Airport Railway (IAR) to link Hong Kong International Airport to the national high-speed rail network, transforming Hong Kong into a core node of the air-rail intermodal in the Greater Bay Area and strengthening the geographical interaction between Central in Hong Kong and Qianhai in Shenzhen through the transport connection of key metropolitan areas.
Our Hong Kong Foundation has released a research report titled “Laying the Tracks to Future-Proof Hong Kong’s Status as an International Aviation Hub”, Photo source: FB of OHKF
Riding on the imminent Hong Kong–Shenzhen Western Rail Link, which is expected to be open to traffic in 2035, the report proposes that the planned terminal in Qianhai can be extended to Shenzhen Bao'an International Airport, while the terminal in Hong Kong can be extended from Hung Shui Kiu to Hong Kong International Airport. The report holds that the key lies in the simultaneous advancement of the extension sections of the two cities, which is expected to be put into operation in 2035 to minimize the time gap with the commissioning of the Guangzhou-Shenzhen High-Speed Railway and improve Hong Kong's motivation in regional connectivity.
The report indicates that the IAR will pass through Shenzhen Bao'an International Airport, connecting Hong Kong International Airport to the national high-speed rail network, reducing the travel time between the two airports to approximately 40 minutes. The IAR will be on par with the Airport Link Line in Shanghai, which also connects airport hubs, and the future Guangzhou-Shenzhen High-Speed Railway, to build a stable, predictable, and round-the-clock dedicated lane between the airports in Hong Kong and Shenzhen. The report also suggests that the IAR can provide an alternate route to and from the Hong Kong International Airport through different station configurations, such as setting up a station at Sunny Bay to connect with the Tung Chung Line, and significantly enhance the connectivity of the railway network.
The report mentions that the passenger volume advantage of Hong Kong International Airport has been overtaken after the pandemic. If we solely rely on the runway capacity of the Three Runway System to maintain the current advantage, such a practice would not be advisable. The IAR can prevent Hong Kong from being marginalized in regional rivalry and leverage the extensive passenger base in the Greater Bay Area and the broader region to bring sustainable impetus for growth to Hong Kong International Airport and consolidate Hong Kong's status as an international aviation hub.
Hong Kong International Airport, Photo source: reference image
ATHENS, Greece (AP) — Angry farmers protesting delays in the payment of subsidies swarmed onto the aircraft parking area of the international airport on the southern Greek island of Crete on Monday, managing to evade riot police who used tear gas and stun grenades to keep them back.
Images from local media showed dozens of farmers standing on a section of the tarmac at the Nikos Kazantzakis international airport in Heraklion, the main town in Crete, forcing the airport to suspend all flights.
Clashes also broke out near the airport of Crete’s second-largest city, Chania, with riot police using tear gas to disperse protesting farmers who pelted them with rocks and overturned a police patrol car, local media reported. Two people were reportedly injured in Chania.
The clashes in Crete are the latest escalation in farmer protests over delays in the payment of European Union-backed agricultural subsidies in the wake of a scandal which revealed fraudulent subsidy claims.
Farmers have deployed thousands of tractors and other agricultural vehicles at border crossings and key points along highways across the country, periodically stopping traffic and threatening to completely blockade roads, as well as ports and airports.
On Friday, riot police fired tear gas at protesting farmers attempting to block the main access road to the international airport outside the northern Greek city of Thessaloniki.
Police have been enforcing traffic diversions in several parts of northern and central Greece to skirt the blockades, while farmer roadblocks at the country’s northern borders with Bulgaria, Turkey and North Macedonia have already hampered truck traffic, causing long backup lines of freight vehicles.
The payment delays have come as authorities review all requests following revelations of widespread fraudulent claims for EU farm subsidies. Protesters have argued that the delays amount to collective punishment, leaving honest farmers in debt and unable to plant their fields for next season. Greece’s farming sector has also been hit this year by an outbreak of goat and sheep pox that led to a mass cull of livestock.
Michalis Chrisochoidis, the minister for public order, said last week that the government remained open to talks with protest leaders, but warned that it wouldn’t tolerate the shutdown of major transit points.
Protests by farmers are common in Greece, and similar blockades in the past have sometimes severed all road traffic between the north and south of the country for weeks.
The subsidy scandal prompted the resignation of five senior government officials in June, and the phased shutdown of a state agency that handled agricultural subsidies. Dozens of people have been arrested for allegedly filing false claims, in response to an investigation led by the European Public Prosecutor’s Office.
The independent EU body dealing with financial crime said at the end of October that the investigation was linked to “a systematic large-scale subsidy fraud scheme and money-laundering activities.”
Farmers overturn a police vehicle during clashes with officers blocking their march to Chania's airport on Crete, Greece, Monday, Dec. 8, 2025, amid protests over delayed EU farm subsidies. (AP Photo/Giannis Angelakis)
Farmers overturn a police vehicle during clashes with officers blocking their march to Chania's airport on Crete, Greece, Monday, Dec. 8, 2025, amid protests over delayed EU farm subsidies. (AP Photo/Giannis Angelakis)
Police use tear gas against farmers during clashes with officers blocking their march to Chania's airport on Crete, Greece, Monday, Dec. 8, 2025, amid protests over delayed EU farm subsidies. (AP Photo/Giannis Angelakis)
Farmers throw stones at police during clashes with officers blocking their march to Chania's airport on Crete, Greece, Monday, Dec. 8, 2025, amid protests over delayed EU farm subsidies. (AP Photo/Giannis Angelakis)
A injured police officer stands next to a police bus during clashes with officers blocking their march to Chania's airport on Crete, Greece, Monday, Dec. 8, 2025, amid protests over delayed EU farm subsidies. (AP Photo/Giannis Angelakis)
Farmers gather next to an overturned police vehicle during clashes with officers blocking their march to Chania's airport on Crete, Greece, Monday, Dec. 8, 2025, amid protests over delayed EU farm subsidies. (AP Photo/Giannis Angelakis)
