Kenneth Ma is Excited by “The Airport Diary’s” Premiere

TVB’s The Airport Diary <飛常日誌> started airing on January 15. Even though the drama initially drew comparisons to Triumph in the Skies <衝上雲霄>, differences are clear as The Airport Diary focuses on airport operations.

The episode was exciting with many emergencies including a typhoon, a tour guide losing their traveler’s passports, a pregnant woman suddenly going into labor on the plane, and a missing child . Luckily, everything was handled smoothly by airport managers Kenneth Ma (馬國明), Sisley Choi (蔡思貝), Samantha Ko (高海寧) and Tony Hung (洪永城), and Tsui Wing (徐榮). Moses Chan (陳豪) even made a cameo as the Airport Authority Chairman.

With many scenes taking place at the airport, the setting was very realistic. The Integrated Airport Center (IAC) was 5,760 square meters and seemed larger with its large curved LED walls. Kenneth shared his admiration for the set, “I was so impressed when I first entered for filming. The monitor looked as big as three theater screens. The front can seat about 160 people and then the manager sits at a table behind them. You can imagine the excitement when you sit in such a spot looking at all the people in front of you and at such a large screen. The screen shows all sorts of information such as the planes taking off, weather, and traffic conditions near the airport. It can control everything at the airport.”

Since his character was very professional, Kenneth made sure to prepare himself for the role. “Before filming, the producer gave me some videos to watch. They interviewed employees at the IAC including the manager. The filming crew was also really good and did a lot of prior research.”

Kenneth thanked the Hong Kong Airport Authority for their full support, “Every day we had employees helping with filming. Whenever actors encountered any problems, they instantly answered our questions with expertise. The Airport Diary  demonstrates many daily emergencies airport staff have to deal with whether it be weather related, missing children, or even passengers boarding late as they were too busy shopping. Previous dramas mostly focused on the pilot or flight attendants, but the operation of the airport is really reliant on these nameless heroes especially during emergencies. I hope everyone will learn more about the Hong Kong International Airport after this drama.”

During premiere night, the cast arrived at the airport to promote their drama on live stream. Sharing unforgettable moments during filming, Kenneth said his cat had scratched his face leaving two bloody scars. His wife Roxanne Tong (湯洛雯) joked he looked like Hello Kitty. Fortunately, the producer only filmed Kenneth from the other side of his face.

Portraying a flight attendant, Tiffany Lau (劉穎鏇) said she struggled to tie her hair in a signature bun. Although not a flight attendant, Sisley also needed the same hairstyle and asked Eunice So (蘇可欣) who was previously a flight attendant for some tips, “She demonstrated how to do the bun in five minutes. I was so impressed–she looked to be lit up by a halo!”