Almost half of the 6,300 quotas to bring in non-local aviation staff has been filled, the government announced on Monday.

The Transport and Logistics Bureau said it approved 2,841 applications from 28 companies in the first round of the labour importation scheme for the aviation industry.

That accounted for around 45 percent of the maximum 6,300 posts officials are hoping to recruit for the sector.

Among those approved, more than 700 are passenger services officer positions, followed by ramp services agents and aircraft maintenance staff.

Of the few applications that were rejected, one had intended to offer a lower salary level than the median wage of the corresponding job type, the bureau said.

“We hope that imported labour will receive training and work in Hong Kong soon, with a view to relieving the acute manpower shortage in the aviation industry and supporting the continual recovery of the industry,” a bureau spokesman said.

Details of the second round of applications would be announced in due course.

The scheme to import thousands of frontline aviation workers is part of a wider effort to recruit 20,000 staff from outside of Hong Kong to solve a manpower crunch.