HKIA Achieves Record Breaking Year in 2015 All Three Traffic Categories Reach New Annual Heights

(HONG KONG, 17 January 2016)  – Hong Kong International Airport (HKIA) witnessed continued traffic growth in 2015 with all three traffic categories setting new annual records. During the year, HKIA welcomed 68.5 million passengers and handled 406,020 flight movements, representing annual growth of 8.1% and 3.8% respectively. Cargo throughput also saw 0.1% year-on-year growth, reaching a record of 4.38 million tonnes.

Fred Lam, Chief Executive Officer of Airport Authority Hong Kong, said, “We are pleased to see HKIA achieving another recording breaking year. The strong performance of HKIA further strengthens its leading position as an international and regional aviation hub. This is also a result of the concerted effort of over 73,000 staff of the airport community. Their dedication has contributed to the smooth operation of the airport throughout the year.”

“During the past year, HKIA also set new records in daily passenger volume and aircraft movements, reaching around 228,000 passengers and over 1,200 flight movements. During the year, the airport also welcomed six airlines, namely Jetstar Japan, Jetstar Pacific, Scandinavian Airlines, Myanmar National Airlines, Etihad Airways and Sky Lease Cargo, which extended our flight network to 190 destinations around the world,” added Mr Lam.

Solid growth was also recorded in cross-boundary traffic between HKIA and the Mainland. In 2015, approximately 2.86 million passengers made use of SkyPier to travel between HKIA and ports in the Pearl River Delta (PRD), representing yearly growth of 3.74%. During the year, SkyPier ferry service expanded to Lianhuashan in Guangzhou, making it the ninth Mainland port served by HKIA. Meanwhile, 2.09 million passengers hired limousine and coach services travelling between HKIA and PRD destinations, representing 5.13% growth compared to 2014.

In December 2015 alone, all three traffic categories also experienced steady growth, with flight movements setting a new monthly record of 35,400 – beating the previous record set in August 2015 and registering 3.3% year-on-year growth. The number of passengers handled during the month reached 6 million, climbing 6.1% compared to December 2014; while cargo volume rose 1% year-on-year to 391,000 tonnes.

The growth in passenger traffic in December was mainly driven by an 11% year-on-year growth in Hong Kong resident traffic. Passenger traffic to and from Japan and Chinese Mainland increased most significantly.

The growth in December cargo throughput was driven by exports, which registered 2% year-on-year growth over the same month in 2014. Amongst the key trading regions, traffic to and from Europe and Australasia grew most significantly compared to other key regions.

“Looking forward, we expect 4% to 6% growth in passenger volume in 2016. Mild growth in cargo volume is expected due to global economic uncertainties. Most challenging of all, we expect air traffic movement to reach its annual maximum capacity of 420,000 soon. While the Midfield Concourse commenced operation at the end of 2015, expanding the airport into a Three-runway System (3RS) is the only option for us to meet long-term air traffic demand. We will continue the preliminary work of the 3RS project, aiming to commence construction works this year. Meanwhile, we will spare no efforts in providing passengers with a world-class travel experience through close cooperation with the airport community and our business partners,” concluded Mr Lam.