Hong Kong International Airport (HKIA) announced that it resumed its dual-runway operation at 15:45hrs after the reopening of the North Runway, which was temporarily closed earlier due to a freighter's tyre burst and hydraulic system failure upon landing at HKIA. 

At about 06:00 hrs, Airport Authority Hong Kong (AAHK) received a report from the Air Traffic Control Tower that Atlas Air freighter 5Y4304, which departed from Hong Kong earlier this morning, requested an emergency air return.

It added that at 07:12 hrs, the plane landed on the North Runway and was staged on the runway with its aircraft tyre burst.

AAHK said as the hydraulic system of the freighter had broken down, the emergency handling took longer than expected.

The North Runway reopened at 15:45hrs.

Earlier, after Alaskan cargo flight 5Y4304 took off at about 04:10hrs from the South Runway, AAHK received a report that suspected tyre fragments were detected on the runway.

AAHK said it initiated emergency clearance according to established procedures and arranged other flights to land and take off on the North Runway. The clearance work concluded at about 06:20 hrs.

"AAHK is highly concerned about the incident and will require the airline to submit a report to AAHK and the Civil Aviation Department as mandated by set procedures," the statement said.

It noted that from 07:00 hrs to 15:00 hrs, HKIA handled 315 flights, of which 186 were delayed.

"AAHK advises travellers to refer to HKIA's website or information from airlines for updated flight information," it said.

Meanwhile, AAHK added that none of the five crew members on board the Atlas Air freighter was injured. All related parties at HKIA immediately arranged personnel for emergency response, including cargo offload and tyre replacement.