1
2
A. Introduction:
Key
 Airports
Figure 1 The spatial distribution of 5 airports in the Zhujiang Delta region
The development of air transportation in the Zhujiang Delta
is a hot issue in the region. Among the five major airports in the
Zhujiang Delta region (Figure 1), Hong Kong International
Airport (HKIA) and Macau International Airport (MIA) are two
popular airports frequently used by Hong Kong citizens. In 2007, the passenger
throughput of HKIA and MIA are 47.8 million and 5.5 million respectively. In this
fieldwork investigation, you are going to conduct a comparative study of the
development and the role of HKIA and MIA in the air transportation of the region.
You may further investigate whether MIA is able to challenge Hong Kong’s role as an
air transport and logistics hub in the region.
3
B. Pre-trip activities:
1. a) Refer to Figure 2. Compare and contrast the volume and characteristics of air
passenger traffic of the four major airports in the Zhujiang Delta region in 2005.
50
40
Passenger traffic 30
(million trips) 20
Domestic
International
10
0
Hong Kong Guangzhou
Shenzhen
Macau
Airport
Figure 2
Air passenger traffic of four major airports in the Zhujiang Delta (2005)
4
b) Refer to Figure 3. Compare and contrast the volume and characteristics of air
cargo traffic of the four major airports in the Zhujiang Delta region in 2005.
3.5
3
2.5
2
Cargo traffic
(million tonnes) 1.5
1
0.5
0
Domestic
International
Hong Kong Guangzhou Shenzhen
Macau
Airport
Figure 3
Air cargo traffic of the four major airports in the Zhujiang Delta region (2005)
c) Explain the percentage share of international and domestic traffic of different
airports as shown in Figures 2 and 3.
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2. Before visiting the Hong Kong International Airport and Macau
International Airport, browse the following websites and finish the
activities that follow.
1. Hong Kong International Airport
http://www.hongkongairport.com/
2. Macau International Airport
http://www.macau-airport.com/
a) Based on the information of the websites, fill in the basic information of the
two airports in Table 1.
Location
Area
No. of runway
No. of aircraft
parking bays
Service hours
No. of airport
hotels
Passenger
throughput
(Year:
)
Air Cargo
throughput
(Year:
)
Connectivity to
the world
(e.g. number of
airlines and
flight
destinations)
Hong Kong International
Macau International
Airport
Airport
6
Hong Kong International
Macau International
Airport
Airport
(Yes / No)
(Yes / No)
Multi-modal
transport hub
Reasons:
Reasons:
Examples of
airlines
Table 1
b) Browse the satellite images of the two airports from Google Earth. Capture
two images from Google Earth, one for HKIA and the other for MIA, and mark
major infrastructure of the two airports on the images. Follow the steps below to
complete your task:




Download the free programme of Google Earth from the website:
http://earth.google.com/
In Google Earth, type “Chek Lap Kok International Airport” and “Taipa
Macau” and look at the satellite images of the two airports.
Type the “Print Screen” button of your keyboard or use software to
capture the two satellite images of HKIA and MIA.
Print the images and mark down major infrastructure of them.
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c) According to the information in 2a and 2b, compare and contrast the facilities,
scale, accessibility and connectivity of the two airports.
d) Which of the airport mentioned above is the air transport hub of the Zhujiang
Delta region? Why do you think so?
3. a) Study the following newspaper clipping, Figure 4 and the website of Macau
International Airport (At the index page, choose Airlines, then Traffic Statistics
and Cargo, and finally Traffic Statistics).
Hong Kong International Airport was chosen as the world’s
best airport by different organizations for many years. It
was awarded for its excellence in air passenger and air cargo
traffic. On the other side, Macau International Airport was
awarded the “2008 Air Cargo—Award of Excellence” in the
airport category of 499,999 or less tons in Asia and Middle
East…
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Figure 4
A photo taken at Macau International Airport
b) According to the information on the website of MIA, describe the trend of air
passenger and air cargo traffic of MIA in the past 10 years.
c) Explain for the trend in b) above with reference to the recent development of
Macau.
d) With the predicted rapid development of western Zhujiang Delta region in the
near future, do you think MIA will challenge the position of HKIA in the next
10-20 years? Search the Internet for evidence to support your answer.
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C. The fieldwork investigation:
Aims:
The aim of this fieldwork investigation is to compare and contrast the facilities, scale,
accessibility and connectivity of the Hong Kong International Airport and Macau
International Airport. You may further assess whether the two airports are
complementary to each other or competitive in their development, and their roles in
air passenger traffic in the Zhujiang Delta region.
Field sites:
The suggested checkpoints are at the passenger terminals of the two airports and
the nearby areas (Refer to Figure 5 and Figure 6). You may also design your own
route and sites for data collection according to your enquiry title.
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





Figure 5 The field site of Hong Kong International Airport (the numbers show the major
checkpoints of the fieldwork)
Don’t miss the “Aviation Discovery Centre” at checkpoint 5!
You’ll collect lots of useful
Information relevant to your study here.
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





Figure 6
The field site of Macau International Airport (the numbers show the major
checkpoints of the fieldwork)
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Fieldtrips:
Data collection for this study will take you at least two half days (one for HKIA and
the other for MIA) if this is an individual investigation. Should you choose to visit the
two airports on different days, you should try to ensure that you will visit both sites at
similar time and on days of similar nature. In most cases, you will make use of your
long school holidays to conduct your fieldwork. If you choose to visit HKIA during
one of the public holidays of the Christmas (say the Christmas day, 25 December),
then you should visit MIA on another public holiday of the same Christmas (for
instance, the Boxing Day, 26 December). This is to ensure that the data collected at
the two airports are comparable. If you work in a group, you can consider dividing
yourselves into 2 small groups and collect data at HKIA and MIA respectively on the
same day (and even at same time).
For each of the two airports, six basic checkpoints have been designed for you to
collect data relevant to the study. You may, of course, add additional points according
to your enquiry title and research interest. Discuss your plan with your geography
teacher and ask for his / her advice before picking additional checkpoints.
Stages of fieldwork enquiry:
Your fieldwork investigation will be divided into 3 main stages as follows:
Stage of fieldwork enquiry
Marks
1
Planning and preparation
10
2
Data Collection
20
3
Report Writing

Data processing, presentation
and analysis

Interpretation and conclusion

Evaluation
70
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Stage 1—Planning and preparation
1. After finishing the pre-trip activities, you now have a preliminary understanding
of the development of air transportation in Hong Kong and Macau. Based on the
information, develop your own enquiry title about air transportation in Hong Kong
and Macau. You can study the following possible directions for comparing the two
airports:



The capacity (passenger traffic / cargo traffic1) of the two airports;
The popularity and trade areas of the two airports;
The accessibility and multi-modality of the two airports;



The infrastructural and other supporting facilities of the two airports;
Competition and / or cooperation between the two airports; or
A combination of the above suggestions or any other possible geographical enquiry
directions related to the roles of HKIA and MIA in the development of air
transportation in the Zhujiang Delta region.
2. After choosing your direction of study, prepare for the two field trips at HKIA and
MIA by completing Table 2.

Develop the enquiry title / question based on your chosen direction(s) (See
“Appendix 1”);


Clarify the objectives of the enquiry;
Identify the type of information (primary and secondary data) that is
required;


Decide on the methods and instruments to be used;
Prepare for the enquiry, e.g. designing record sheets (See “Appendix 2”)
and preparing base maps for drawing flow lines, desire lines or air
transportation networks (i.e. mapping movements, see an example in
“Appendix 3); and

1
Develop the enquiry sequences.
If you want to conduct a fieldwork about air cargo traffic, you should seek permission from relevant
parties before your trip. Browse the websites of these organizations and ask your teacher for advice.
Most of them do not entertain the application of individual student but may consider the application of
schools.
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An example of developing enquiry title, geographical questions and related record
sheets is shown in Appendix 2.
Enquiry Title:
Explanation of the study
(scope, objectives, geographical questions / problems / phenomena / focusing
questions / hypothesis):
Relevant geographical concepts and perspectives (with references):
Required information (primary and secondary):





Methods of investigation:



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Instruments for data collection:





Enquiry sequences:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
…
Table 2
Planning and preparation for the fieldwork investigation
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Stage 2—Data Collection
At HKIA / MIA, collect data at the checkpoints you
choose for your enquiry. At this stage, you should:
 use different techniques and instruments to collect data in the field;
 record and organise field data systematically; and
 gather supplementary information (secondary data) after the fieldwork.
Stage 3—Report writing
After data collection, you are required to prepare a
fieldwork report in not more than 1,500 words. It
should mainly base on primary data but secondary data
can also be used as supplementary information. All
secondary data used should be acknowledged.
The report may include the following parts:



Cover page
Contents page
Introduction (including the objectives,
methodology used for the fieldwork)



Presentation of the collected data
Analysis of the data
Interpretation of the findings



Conclusions
Evaluation (of the whole enquiry) and suggestions
Appendices (may include some sample record sheets and other materials
that are relevant to the investigation)

Bibliography
enquiry title(s),
site
and
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Appendix 1
How to develop a geographical enquiry title?
When developing your enquiry title, you should make sure
that your enquiry is geographical in nature. In other words,
you should ensure that your title includes geographic
concepts, such as space, location and environment, and is
related to the study of spatial relationships. The following
key questions are useful for checking whether your
enquiry is geographical or not:






“What is there?”
“Where is it?”
“Why is it there?”
“What are the effects of it being there?”
“How is it changing over time?”
“What action is appropriate?”
(Quoted from P.281 of a book— Baker, S., Mitchell, L., Murray, S.,
Rousham, W. and Simpson, N. (1996). Pathways in Senior
Geography—Essential Skills. South Melbourne: Thomas Nelson
Australia.)
If your enquiry includes all / some of the above, it can be
regarded as a geographical enquiry. Discuss with your
geography teacher and make sure that your chosen title is
manageable in terms of time and resources available.
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Appendix 2
An example on planning and developing a
fieldwork investigation about air transportation
Background information:
Enquiry title, e.g.
Compare the roles of HKIA and MIA in terms of air passenger traffic
Geographical questions, e.g.
1.
What are the infrastructural and supporting facilities for air passengers of the two
2.
3.
airports? Which one is better in terms of quantity and quality?
Which of the two airports are more accessible by people of Zhujiang Delta? Why?
What are the capacity and amount of flows of the two airports in terms of air passenger
4.
5.
6.
traffic?
Where are the destinations of the passenger flights from HKIA and MIA respectively?
What are the characteristics of these air routes (e.g. international / regional / domestic)?
Are they multi-modal hubs in the region?
What are the roles of HKIA and MIA in the air transport development of the Zhujiang
Delta region? Are they competitive or complementary to each other?
With reference to the enquiry title above, you may design record sheets to collect
relevant data. Three sample record sheets are shown below. You may also design
questionnaires to ask the air passengers of the two airports about their flight origins
and reasons for choosing HKIA / MIA.
Sample record sheet (1)—Origins and destinations of flights (HKIA / MIA)
Flight
origin
Flight
destination
Airline
Frequency
(e.g. per
week)
Characteristics
(tick in appropriate box)
International
flight
Domestic
flight
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Sample record sheet (2)—Infrastructural and supporting facilities (HKIA / MIA)
Facility
Type / example (number)
Quality
(by observation)
Runway
Airport hotel
Shops
Clothing, e.g. ___________
Souvenirs, e.g. __________
(
(
)
)
Chinese, e.g. ____________ (
Western, e.g. ____________ (
Japanese, e.g. ___________ (
Others, e.g. ______________ (
…
)
)
)
Theme park, e.g. __________ (
Cinema, e.g. _____________ (
Museum, e.g. _____________ (
Golf course, e.g. __________ (
)
)
)
)
…
Restaurant
Entertainment
…
Venue for
exhibition and
meeting
Car park
Terminal for
coach / bus
Pier
…
)
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Sample record sheet (3)—Multimodal hub (HKIA / MIA)
Transport mode
Road transport
(e.g. bus, taxi, coach)
Rail transport
(e.g. Airport railway)
Water transport
(e.g. ferry, ship)
Air transport
(e.g. helicopter)
…
No. of routes
available
Destination(s)
Details / remarks
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A base map for mapping the destinations of flights from HKIA / MIA
Appendix 3