Taxiways at Chek Lap Kok run the length of the runways but are narrower, have distinctive green lighting and, unlike runways, no lights down the centre.

A Civil Aviation Department report issued following the incident recommends that the airline improve its standard operating procedures and place more emphasis on crew training to 'enhance flight crew situation awareness and alertness'. It also recommends improvements to taxiway lighting and ground marking systems at Chek Lap Kok.

Captain Indra Santrianto and his first officer, Diego Martin Chiadria, were dismissed after the department held an investigation into how their plane set off down a taxiway for takeoff in the early hours of September 13.

Mr Indra told management that he was merely travelling at speed on a taxiway on his way to the north runway and argued that air traffic controllers may have mistaken his approach for an attempted takeoff.

However, the investigation concluded that the pilot was attempting a takeoff and said the incident was caused by 'the temporary loss of situation awareness' on the part of the flight crew.

A spokeswoman for the department said the report had been circulated to the airline and the Airport Authority, and follow-up action was being taken.

The authority confirmed it had received the report and said it would act on the recommendations.

Hong Kong Airlines spokesman Alex Au confirmed that the two pilots had been dismissed, but declined to say if they had been sacked as a result of the report or the airline's own investigation into the incident.

'It is a fair report,' Mr Au said. 'We have already released the two pilots and we are implementing the recommendations that the department made regarding procedures.'

Seven-year-old Hong Kong Airlines, which with sister airline Hong Kong Express flies to 30 cities across Asia, has been mired in controversy since firing a number of senior expatriate pilots early this year.

Some pilots claim the sacked crew have been replaced by less-experienced officers hired from overseas on lower salaries, and say the September incident is a symptom of deep-rooted internal problems.

John Findlay, general secretary of the Hong Kong Aircrew Officers Association, said yesterday: 'The number of highly qualified pilots who have been terminated for no apparently justifiable reason is alarming.'

Mr Au said allegations that the September incident indicated general poor standards at the airline were 'grossly unfair and inappropriate'.