Hong Kong airport cargo up 9.3pc, record November high of 374,000 tonnes

HONG KONG International Airport (HKIA) posted a monthly record high for cargo traffic in November, handling 374,000 tonnes with a 9.3 per cent growth year on year.

"We are pleased to see very healthy growth in all traffic figures, especially the sustained rebound of cargo volume for four consecutive months despite a consistently challenging global economic environment," said Airport Authority Hong Kong CEO Stanley Hui.

Growth in November cargo throughput was due to 11 per cent year-on-year growth in exports, said the company statement, adding that November cargo throughput to and from North America and southeast Asia outperformed other key regions.

Looking ahead, he said: "We remain cautiously optimistic about the potential for cargo throughput, and foresee this positive trend continuing."

Passenger traffic also experienced 5.5 per cent year-on-year growth with 4.6 million passengers. And flight movement saw a 6.6 per cent increase with 29,710 flight movements handled.

HKIA said the rise in passenger traffic was driven by Hong Kong resident travel, which saw a 12 per cent growth year on year. Outstanding routes for passenger traffic include those to and from south east Asia and mainland China.

From January to November, cargo volume rose 1.7 per cent to 3.7 million tonnes, while passenger traffic increased 4.8 per cent to 51.5 million. Flight movements grew to 320,860, a 5.4 per cent year-on-year increase.

Mr Hui said airlines serving the Hong Kong airport are adding 250 flights to cater for the increased Christmas and New Year holiday demand.

On a rolling 12-month basis, cargo tonnage registered a 1.1 per cent increase to four million tonnes, flight movements posted 5.4 per cent year-on-year growth to 350,155 movements and passenger traffic rose 5.1 per cent to 56.3 million.