【明報專訊】Recently Zhu Wei, the mayor of Foshan, has announced that Foshan's proposal to build a new airport costing RMB 35 billion has been officially approved by the Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC). If completed, the new airport will be a major addition to the list of five existing airports in the Pearl River Delta. The economic development and ever-growing number of travellers in the Greater Bay area may necessitate the construction of a new airport, but there are two bigger pictures that need to be considered. One is the large-scale expansions of the Guangzhou airport and Shenzhen airport, and the other is the intense development of high-speed rail (HSR) trains and magnetic levitation (Maglev) trains as alternatives to aircraft. Whether the new airport in Foshan will be a white elephant is a question that must be considered carefully.