Replies to LegCo questions
LCQ1: Hygiene conditions of civilian passenger aircraft
Following is a question by the Dr Hon Raymond Ho and a reply by the Secretary
for Food and Health, Dr York Chow, in the Legislative Council today (February
20):
Question:
Reports of rats found on civilian passenger aircraft are heard from time to
time. In addition to spreading germs and posing hygiene hazards, rats may even
bite and damage the electrical wires on the aircraft, jeopardising flight
safety. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council whether:
(a) it knows if there were cases of rats found on arriving civilian passenger
aircraft in the past five years; if there were such cases, of the number; and
(b) the hygiene conditions of arriving civilian passenger aircraft are subject
to regulation under the laws of Hong Kong; if so, of the regulatory measures
adopted by the responsible government department(s) to ensure that the hygiene
conditions of aircraft are satisfactory, to avoid passengers' health or even
flight safety from being affected?
Reply:
Madam President,
Airlines are duty-bound to ensure the hygiene and flight safety of their
aircraft, while the Government plays the monitoring role.
(a) Over the past five years, the Department of Health (DH) did not receive any
complaint about rats found on aircraft. During the period between July 2006 and
December 2007, DH conducted inspections on over 100 arriving planes and no rat
was found. According to the records of the Civil Aviation Department (CAD),
there has been no cases of rats being spotted nor cases of aviation safety being
affected by rats in passenger aircraft arriving in Hong Kong in the past five
years.
(b) In Hong Kong, hygiene matters relating to international civilian passenger
aircraft are subject to regulation under the Quarantine and Prevention of
Disease Ordinance (Cap.141). The Port Health Office (PHO) of the DH is
responsible for the enforcement work.
The scope of work involved in safeguarding the hygiene of international civilian
passenger aircraft includes monitoring the hygiene condition of water and food
supplied to aircraft crew members and passengers, the environmental hygiene of
the airport passenger terminal, its surroundings and aircraft, as well as
conducting surveillance of disease vectors (such as mosquitoes and rodents) at
the airport. PHO staff will conduct inspections at the airport and on aircraft
to monitor their hygiene conditions and collect samples from water supply
points, air caterers and aircraft for examination. The PHO will initiate
investigations and follow-up actions after a complaint about hygiene conditions
on aircraft has been received. The PHO will also maintain close cooperation with
the Food and Environmental Hygiene Department and the Airport Authority Hong
Kong (AA) to monitor the environmental hygiene and disease vectors at the
airport. Where necessary, it will give advice to the AA, airlines and other
related parties such as restaurants, etc. on the improvement of environmental
hygiene.
On flight safety, CAD requires our airlines to maintain the highest safety
standard in both their flight and maintenance operations in accordance with the
standards and recommended practices of the International Civil Aviation
Organisation and the laws of Hong Kong. For example, to uphold aviation safety,
CAD requires rigorous inspections of aircraft by the flight and maintenance
crews before each flight to ensure the normal operation of all aircraft systems.
CAD conducts regular inspections to ensure compliance with the relevant
requirements by the airlines.
Ends/Wednesday, February 20, 2008
Issued at HKT 12:30
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