Hactl – the world’s first CTO to obtain ISAGO registration

(4 March 2009, Hong Kong) Hong Kong Air Cargo Terminals Limited (Hactl) is pleased to announce that the company officially received the notification from the International Air Transport Association (IATA), confirming its status as the world’s first air cargo terminal operator to have successfully obtained the IATA Safety Audit for Ground Operations (ISAGO) registration.

Mr Kenneth Bell, Hactl’s Director of Service Delivery said: “We are very pleased to be the world’s first cargo terminal operator (CTO) to be registered on the ISAGO Registry, helping to set worldwide industry benchmarks. Hactl’s commitment and efforts in pursuing rigorous quality and safety standards over the years are again being recognised.”

Upon the successful completion of the corporate and station audits, which were held in May and in October respectively last year, Hactl demonstrated operational and service integrity in conformity with ISAGO standards.

Mr Mike O’Brien, Director Programme Implementation/Auditing of IATA commented: “Hactl’s new entry to the ISAGO registry is a significant boost to our audit programme as the company has been independently recognised for its leading position and safety excellence in the region for many years. We are very pleased that HACTL has taken a pioneering role in embracing ISAGO, which helps in promoting and ensuring high-levels of security and safety throughout the whole air cargo handling process. We believe that ISAGO is the solution for ground handlers to reduce accidents and injuries, contributing to cost saving and further efficiency among the industry players.”

Mr Bell stressed that safety excellence and quality standards are key priorities of Hactl. Since 2005, Hactl has already been awarded the Technology Asset Protection Association (TAPA) – Cargo Terminal Best Security Practices compliance certification and Hactl is the first CTO in the world to be awarded up to this level of compliance.

We are committed to offering our customers risk-free and safe cargo handling as far as possible whereby the airlines can focus on their core business. The enormous challenges brought by the economic downturn will not affect our dedication to offer a secure working environment that benefits our airline customers, the air cargo community and, of course, our staff,” said Mr Bell.

About Hactl

Hactl is the leading air cargo terminal operator in Hong Kong. It operates SuperTerminal 1, which was opened in 1998 at Hong Kong International Airport and is the largest single air cargo terminal in the world handling the world’s highest amount of international cargo. It has a potential capacity of 3.5 million tonnes per annum. Hactl provides an extensive range of customer-driven services, including physical cargo handling, air cargo documentation handling, freighter ramp handling and logistics support services, serving more than 90 airlines and 1,000 freight forwarders.

For more information about Hactl, go to www.hactl.com

About IATA Safety Audit for Ground Operations (ISAGO) 　　　　　　　　　　　　

The IATA Safety Audit for Ground Operations (ISAGO) Programme is an internationally recognised and accepted evaluation system designed to assess the operational management and control systems of a Ground Service Provider. ISAGO is based on industry-proven quality audit principles, and is designed to ensure such audit is conducted in a standardised manner to achieve consistent results.

For more information about ISAGO, go to www.iata.org/ps/certification/isago