Airport Authority Announces Air Traffic Figures for September<br>Hong Kong International Airport Receives Global Retail Experience Award

(HONG KONG, 20 October 2019) – Airport Authority Hong Kong (AA) announced traffic figures at Hong Kong International Airport (HKIA) for September 2019. During the month, HKIA handled 4.9 million passengers and 33,390 air traffic movements, representing year-on-year declines of 12.8% and 1.0%, respectively. Cargo throughput saw a decrease of 5.9% year-on-year to 406,000 tonnes in September, a narrower decline compared with the previous month.

The drop in visitor traffic is the key factor accounting for the overall decrease in passenger volume in September. Transfer / transit passenger traffic however recorded a 5% increase and the number of passengers travelling between Hong Kong and Japan also saw a growth of 4% when compared to the same period last year.

The momentum of transfer passenger traffic continued during the National Day “golden week” holidays from 1 to 7 October, as SkyPier at HKIA handled a record-breaking of 15,455 cross-boundary ferry passengers on 1 October, surpassing the daily record of 12,922 passengers set in 2015. The daily sea-to-air and air-to-sea passenger numbers both achieved new records, registering over 14,347 passengers on 1 October and 8,854 on 7 October, respectively.

Amid continuous global trade uncertainties, cargo volume continued to contract in September. However, transshipment saw a significant improvement, with the double-digit decreases in the previous months narrowing to a single-digit 5% decrease in September. Amongst key trading regions, Japan and India contributed positive growth.

On a 12-month rolling basis, flight movements grew 0.4% to 427,960, while passenger throughput and cargo throughput declined 0.5% and 5.7% to 74.1 million and 4.9 million tonnes, respectively.

Meanwhile, the AA has won the “Airport Operator of the Year” award at the DFNI Frontier Awards organised by two renowned global travel retail publications - DFNI and Frontier magazines, beating a strong field of competing airport operators worldwide. The panel of judges commended the AA for delivering a hassle-free retail experience at HKIA, underscored by its insightful commercial strategy of widening the retail trade-mix with innovative and attractive concepts and brands. Judges also recognised the customer experience enhancements at HKIA through the airport’s digital collaboration with retail operators and brands and the introduction of the HKairportShop online shopping platform.

Cissy Chan, Executive Director, Commercial of the AA said, “We are honoured to receive this prestigious award, which recognises our continuous efforts to deliver an unrivalled retail experience, and our drive to spearhead digitalisation in the industry. The airport is now undergoing transformation in its luxury zone and popular food court, aiming to heighten and refresh passengers’ shopping and dining experiences.”

To further bring delight to passengers’ journeys at HKIA, roving instrumental performances will entertain travellers at the Central Concourse in the restricted area of Terminal 1 from now until the end of October (1100hrs to 1600hrs every day).