The Central Kowloon Bypass Yau Ma Tei Section has Opened on December 21

The Central Kowloon Bypass (Yau Ma Tei Section) has opened at 10 a.m. on December 21. Ms. Mable Chan, the Secretary for Transport and Logistics, stated at the opening ceremony that the construction of the bypass has overcome multiple challenges in the urban area. After its opening, the east-west traffic and public transport in Kowloon will be significantly improved.

The opening ceremony of the Central Kowloon Bypass (Yau Ma Tei Section), Photo by Bastille Post

Ms. Mable Chan, the Secretary for Transport and Logistics, Photo by Bastille Post

Ms. Chan pointed out that, during the final stage of the bypass construction over the past few years, the related personnel from the Transport and Logistics Bureau, Highways Department and the Transport Department have repeatedly explained the construction challenges and difficulties, as well as the transportation arrangements to the public. Relevant information has also been disclosed to the public through various channels.

The opening ceremony of the Central Kowloon Bypass (Yau Ma Tei Section), Photo by Bastille Post

Ms. Chan said that the construction of the Central Kowloon Bypass has three major characteristics: "reaching up to the sky, going down to the ground, and reaching out to the sea". The construction process needs to pass through various busy urban areas and neighbourhoods in Kowloon, including Yau Ma Tei, Jordan, Kowloon Bay and Kai Tak, involving tunnel engineering and a number of complex construction techniques.

She mentioned that during the construction, multiple MTR routes need to be crossed, with the nearest construction distance being only about three meters. More than two thousand underground blasting operations have been carried out. Since the time for some of the construction procedures is extremely limited, the construction team has adopted the application of technology and close teamwork to ensure the safety of the construction and the smooth operation of the city.

The tunnel of the Central Kowloon Bypass (Yau Ma Tei Section)

In terms of transportation of the bypass, Ms. Chan said that eight franchised bus routes will cover the relevant sections after the opening of the bypass, including three newly established routes and five adjusted routes. The government will continue to optimize public transportation arrangements in a timely manner according to the travel needs of citizens.

The entrance and exit of the tunnel of the Central Kowloon Bypass (Yau Ma Tei Section)

She also pointed out that the driving time between Yau Ma Tei and Kai Tak will be shortened from about 30 minutes to about 5 minutes after the opening of the bypass, helping to improve overall traffic efficiency and promote the long-term development of surrounding neighbourhoods.

The intersection of Kai Tak of the Central Kowloon Bypass (Yau Ma Tei Section)

After the opening ceremony, Ms. Chan and the officials present, members of the Legislative Council, District Councillors and other guests boarded the open-top bus to experience the operation of the bypass. Ms. Chan said that since December 22 would be the first working day after the opening of the bypass, eight bus routes will be arranged to pass through the bypass, including three new routes and five existing routes, driving from Yau Ma Tei to Kai Tak.

The intersection of Yau Ma Tei of the Central Kowloon Bypass (Yau Ma Tei Section)

LONDON (AP) — The head of Britain ’s air traffic control system was summoned to a meeting with the country's transport minister as airlines scrambled Wednesday to dig out from the backlog triggered by technical problems that forced the cancellation of more than 1,750 flights.

The problems first surfaced on Tuesday, disrupting travel across the U.K. and stranding passengers for hours on airport runways and in terminals. Flight delays were expected to continue through the day Wednesday as airlines rebook stranded passengers and work to reposition aircraft left at the wrong airports by the cancellations.

Britain's National Air Traffic Services, or NATS, which operates the air traffic control system, attributed the problems to “an issue in our flight processing system” that has been resolved. Delays rippled across 15 U.K. airports and beyond as airlines and airports worked to clear a huge backlog of delayed flights.

In a statement on X, Heathrow, Europe's largest airport, urged passengers to check their flight status before travelling to the airport and to "only travel if your flight is confirmed to be operating.''

“We apologize to those affected and have extra colleagues across our terminals to support passengers while we work with NATS and airline partners to restore normal operations as quickly as possible,” Heathrow said.

Budget carriers Ryanair and Wizz Air have called for the head of the NATS, Martin Rolfe, to consider resigning after a second major outage hit the air traffic control system in three years. Budget airline EasyJet said some of its flights were “unable to operate” and that the system failure caused “delays to flights across Europe.”

Rolfe on Wednesday apologized for the inconvenience caused by the outage but said the U.K. air traffic control system remains one of the safest and most efficient in the world.

“Our job is also to make sure that people stay safe,” he told the BBC. “We never do this lightly. We only ever do it when there is an issue that cannot be resolved quickly, and we have to take action to make (sure) those who are flying, who are in the air at that time, are safe. And when we can restore these incredibly complex systems we do so as quickly as we can.”

Neal McMahon, Ryanair’s chief operating officer, called on Rolfe to resign. On Tuesday, Ryanair said more than 65,000 of its passengers had been disrupted and it had cancelled more than 50 scheduled flights.

“How many more failures do passengers have to suffer before overpaid failure Nats CEO Martin Rolfe accepts responsibility for his repeated mismanagement and resigns?'' McMahon said. “Over three years after Nats’ catastrophic 2023 system meltdown, it’s clear that nothing has changed.''

But Transport Secretary Heidi Alexander sought further explanation and summoned Rolfe for a meeting.

“I am seeking assurances that lessons will be learned and systems that support aviation are up to the job,” she said in a post on X.

Affected airports included Heathrow and Gatwick as well as those in Manchester, Birmingham and Scotland. They warned passengers to check the status of their flight with their airline.

Passengers wait in line at Heathrow Airport in London, during an air traffic control problem that disrupted travel across Britain. (Jonathan Brady/PA via AP)