Air traffic shows healthy growth at HKIA in first half of 2013

Hong Kong International Airport (HKIA) reported sustained growth in all three traffic categories for the first half of 2013. During the first six months of the year, passenger volume grew to 28.9 million, marking a 4.7% increase over the same period in 2012. Cargo tonnage increased 2% to 2 million tonnes, while flight movements rose 5.1% to 180,650.

This solid performance was supported by overall traffic growth in June. The airport served 5 million passengers and handled 30,555 flight movements during the month, representing year-on-year increases of 7.6% and 7.5%, respectively. Monthly cargo volume also grew 1% to 337,000 tonnes.

The growth in passenger traffic in June was driven by Hong Kong resident travel and visitor traffic, which saw 12% and 10% gains respectively over the same month last year. Passenger traffic to and from Mainland China and South East Asia performed particularly well.

The growth in cargo throughput last month was primarily due to a 3% year-on-year growth in exports. During June, cargo throughput to and from North America outperformed other key regions.

Stanley Hui Hon-chung, Chief Executive Officer of Airport Authority Hong Kong (AA), said, “We are pleased to report that HKIA achieved a new record in daily passenger numbers, and also set records in both single-day and monthly aircraft movements over the past six months. Cross-boundary ferry traffic between HKIA and eight ports in the Pearl River Delta including Macao recorded over 1.3 million passengers, up 5.8% over the six months, year on year.

“We began the second half of the year by celebrating the 15th anniversary of HKIA with our business partners and airport users – hosting a Gala Dinner and mob dance performance which drew overwhelming response. The mob dance was particularly well received, drawing hundreds of thousands of online views in no time. I would like to thank colleagues from our business partners and the AA who spent hours practising the dance, resulting in a superb performance that was surely a high point of HKIA’s 15th anniversary celebration.

“HKIA’s continuous growth over the past 15 years is a testament to the vision and determination of our people, who have worked hand in hand with the Government and our business partners to contribute to Hong Kong’s success as Asia’s World City. Looking ahead, we will continue to work closely with the airport community with a view to achieving the next level of excellence and contributing to the city’s sustainable development,” Mr Hui added.

On a rolling 12-month basis, passenger volume at HKIA was up 3.7% to 57.8 million, cargo throughput grew 3.2% to 4.1 million tonnes and flight movements increased 5% to 360,425.

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