Airport flight movements up 6.1%

October 23, 2011

Hong Kong International Airport saw sustained solid growth in passenger volume and flight movements in September, as passenger trips rose 5.4% to 4.3 million, while flight movements rose 6.1% to 27,695.
 
Cargo tonnage amounted to 325,000 over the same period, down 6.1% year on year.
 
The growth in passenger traffic was mainly driven by  visitor traffic which registered yearly growth of 7%. Passenger traffic to and from South East Asia performed particularly well.
 
Airport Authority Chief Executive Officer Stanley Hui said he was pleased to witness steady growth last month and was also delighted to see airlines choose to operate new-generation aircraft at Hong Kong International Airport.
 
He expects more airlines to deploy these new-generation aircraft types in the coming years.
 
The decline in cargo throughput was mainly attributable to the 10% year-on-year drop in exports. Imports fell 6% and transshipments grew 5% compared to the same month last year. Europe, North America and Taiwan experienced double-digit declines in overall cargo traffic.
 
Over the past 12 months, the airport handled 53.1 million passengers, representing a year-on-year increase of 6.5%, and 329,705 aircraft movements, an 11.2% increase. Cargo volume fell 0.3% in the same period, amounting to 4 million tonnes.