As part of an on-going initiative to further engage frontline officers, Commissioner Lo Wai-chung visited Airport District (APTDIST) on the evening of January 9 to speak to officers about their daily duties.

The visit is part of a continuing series of visits to frontline formations aimed at engaging in effective two-way communication with officers from across the Force. It also provides the Commissioner with the opportunity to see and hear about the day-to-day challenges facing frontline officers.

After being greeted by APTDIST Commander, the Commissioner was taken into the Airport Restricted Area by Senior Inspector (SIP) of the Airport Security Unit (ASU) Chua Po-hoi. Their first stop was the Northern Rescue and Fire Fighting Station where Mr Chua briefed the Commissioner on APTDIST's capabilities and contingency plans for aircraft emergencies.

The Commissioner then proceeded to ASU's Police Operations Room located in Terminal 1, where he met a cross-section of officers and discussed the daily operations of ASU and the challenges they faced. He was then briefed by Station Sergeant (SSGT) Wong Chi-wai of ASU on a special operation conducted by APTDIST personnel to provide enhanced security coverage to selected flights operating in and out of the airport. Following the briefing, he was able to actually observe the on-the-ground-deployment for a live operation covering an arriving flight and involving ASU, including their Dog Handlers, and Uniform Branch (UB) personnel.

Afterwards, the Commissioner returned to the Airport Police Station for dinner with a cross-section of APTDIST staff, including ASU, UB and Crime officers ranging in rank from Police Constable to SIP.

The Commissioner concluded his visit at the Airport Police Control Room (APCR) where SIP (Operations) APTDIST Cheng Chun-tung and Senior Police Communications Officer Li Chi-kin briefed him on the command and control functions of the APCR and response to emergencies.

Mr Chua told OffBeat that the Commissioner's visit had enhanced the Force Management's understanding of the difficulties and challenges faced by APTDIST officers. The Commissioner also acknowledged their efforts and commended them for their professionalism and efficiency.

On the other hand, SSGT of APTDIST Patrol Sub-unit 1 Ma Chin-chiu who joined the dinner with the Commissioner said that Mr Lo listened attentively to the sharing by the officers of their work experience and feelings, showing that the Force Management attached importance and gave support and encouragement to frontline officers.