HONG KONG Airport Authority (HKAA) chief executive officer Stanley Hui resigned suddenly with effect from July, reports Hong Kong Government Information Services.

In August, the South China Morning Post, quoting unidentified sources, said Mr Hui had been given "verbal warning" at a board meeting for changing the evaluation criteria in the middle of a tender process, resulting in Rolex getting an airport lease.

One source told the newspaper that Mr Hui, without ill intent, had nonetheless committed a "definite violation" of the tender process. The airport authority would not comment on the story.

Mr Hui has been CEO of Airport Authority Hong Kong since February 1, 2007, before and CEO of Dragonair before that, having joined the airline in February 1997 after serving as CEO of cargo carrier Air Hong Kong.

Separately, Cathay Pacific Airways issued a press release welcoming the reappointment of Marvin Cheung Kin-tung as chairman of the Airport Authority Hong Kong (AAHK) for one more year with effect from June 1.

At the same time as welcoming Dr Cheung's reappointment, Cathay Pacific CEO John Slosar "expressed his thanks to Mr Stanley Hui, who will step down as CEO", said the Cathay press release.

"Mr Hui came to the job with extensive experience in the aviation industry and his in-depth knowledge has been used to good effect over the past seven years," Mr Slosar said. "We wish him well in his future endeavours."