HKIA Sees Double-digit Growth in Passenger Traffic in January

(HONG KONG, 21 February 2016)  –  Air traffic at Hong Kong International Airport (HKIA) continued to grow steadily in the first month of 2016. In January, passenger volume saw double-digit growth of 13.3% to 5.9 million, while flight movements rose 5.4% to 35,195 compared to the same month last year. Cargo volume also reached 361,000 tonnes in January, marking growth of 1.5%.

The robust year-on-year growth in passenger traffic in January was mainly driven by 17% growth in Hong Kong resident travel. Visitor and transfer/transit traffic also recorded strong growth of 13% and 11%, respectively. Passenger traffic to/from Southeast Asia and Mainland China recorded the most significant increases.

The growth in cargo throughput last month was mainly attributed to 3% year-on-year growth in both exports and transshipments. During the month, cargo throughput to/from key trading regions in Australasia and Europe grew most significantly compared to other key regions.

C K Ng, Executive Director, Airport Operations of Airport Authority Hong Kong said, “Along with the continuous steady growth in monthly figures, we are delighted to report new daily record set since the beginning of the year.  A new record of 1,227 flight movements in a single day was seen on 6 February, two days before the Chinese New Year. The strong momentum in passenger traffic continued during the Chinese New Year holiday, with an average of over 200,000 daily passengers recorded from 6 February to 13 February.”

"HKIA’s extensive flight network also continued to expand with the addition of a new destination, Australia’s Gold Coast. Hong Kong Airlines’ new route to the Gold Coast and Cairns commenced operation in January, offering three direct flights to these Australian destinations each week," added Mr Ng.

On a rolling 12-month basis, passenger volume and flight movements at HKIA climbed 9.1% and 4.1% to 69.2 million and 407,830, respectively, over the same period last year. Cargo throughput rose 0.1% year-on-year to 4.4 million tonnes.