Airport News

Airport News

Hong Kong International Airport (HKIA) handled 4.8 million passengers in September – 9.3% up on the corresponding month a year ago.

The airport also enjoyed a 5.5% year-on-year rise in aircraft movements to 30,440, although cargo volumes reported a modest decline of 0.8% to 344,000 tonnes.

According to operator Airport Authority Hong Kong (AAHK), passenger traffic to and from South East Asia and Mainland China outperformed other key regions during the month.

The decline in cargo throughput was mainly attributed to a 3% year-on-year drop in imports.

Exports recorded a slight decline, while transshipments registered a 1% increase compared to the same month last year.

AAHK's CEO, Stanley Hui Hon-chung, says: “Complementing the steady upward trend in air passengers and flight movements, cross-boundary transport at HKIA also served a significant number of visitors during the National Day Golden Week earlier this month.

"Cross-boundary limousine and coach passengers to and from the Pearl River Delta set a new daily record of around 10,500 on 7 October.

"Furthermore, over 50,000 passengers used our SkyPier ferry services during the first seven days of the month, which is a reflection of the increasing importance of HKIA as a gateway to the Pearl River Delta."

He revealed that the airport will handle around 1,068 scheduled flights daily during HKIA’s winter flight schedule, which commences at the end of October.

"Working closely in concert with government departments and business partners, I am confident HKIA can maintain the highest standards of safety, efficiency and service quality while serving greater number of travellers than ever before,” adds Hui.

The last traffic figures mean that a total of 44.8 million passengers (+6%), three million tonnes of cargo (+1.7 ) and 275,645 flight movements (+5.6%) passed through the gateway during the first three quarters of 2013.