Passenger and air traffic movements set new monthly records

Hong Kong International Airport (HKIA) saw another busy month in August with passenger volume and aircraft movements breaking new monthly records for the second month in a row. Boosted by burgeoning demand during the summer holiday period, HKIA sustained the upward momentum in passenger numbers to reach a new high of 5.2 million and reported year-on-year growth of 3.9%. Flight movements hit a record of 30,470 as well, up 5.2% compared to the same period last year. Cargo volume also grew by 3% to 328,000 tonnes as HKIA approaches the busier months before the end of the year.

The growth in passenger traffic in August was primarily driven by a 7% increase in visitors over the year before. Passenger numbers to and from South East Asia and Japan performed particularly well.

A 3% year-on-year increase in export volumes led the growth in cargo tonnage last month, and cargo throughput to and from Japan and South East Asia outperformed other key regions.

Stanley Hui Hon-chung, Chief Executive Officer of Airport Authority Hong Kong, said, “It is very encouraging to see both passenger traffic and flight movements reach new heights at HKIA. We anticipate a steady growth trend in coming months as travel usually peaks at the end of the year, and in particular, during major festivals or holidays such as the Mid-Autumn Festival and the National Day Golden Week.”

Mr Hui added, “Late last month, HKIA welcomed Air Astana, an airline from Kazakhstan, which launched a new twice-weekly passenger service between Hong Kong and Almaty. The addition of Almaty further expands HKIA’s extensive network of air services covering more than 170 destinations worldwide.”

For the first eight months of the year, HKIA handled 37.9 million passengers and processed 2.6 million tonnes of cargo, representing a growth of 5.6% and 0.2% respectively from a year earlier. Aircraft movements increased 5.4% to 232,245.

On a rolling 12-month basis, flight movements registered a year-on-year increase of 5.3%, amounting to 345,695 movements. Passenger traffic rose 5.7% to 55.9 million, while cargo tonnage decreased 2.2% to 3.9 million.

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