Hong Kong International Airport (HKIA) has reported ‘steady growth’ in passenger numbers for March, with volume up 4.8% to 6m, while flight movements rose by 2.2% to 35,060 compared to the same month last year.

 

Airport management said growth was mostly due to increased Hong Kong resident travel, which registered an impressive 19% year-on-year rise over the same month last year. Passenger traffic to and from Southeast Asia and North Asia recorded the most significant increases.

 

Commenting, C K Ng, Executive Director, Airport Operations of Airport Authority Hong Kong, said: “In March, HKIA was delighted to welcome the arrival of the first A350 aircraft, operated by Finnair between Hong Kong and Helsinki. This new generation aircraft is quieter, more energy efficient and environmental friendly.”

 

 

Meanwhile, in the first quarter of 2016, HKIA welcomed 17.6m passengers, and witnessed 102,880 flight movements, marking year-on-year increases of 7.5% and 4%, respectively. Cargo throughput declined 3.5% from the same period in 2015 to 987,000 tonnes.

 

On a rolling 12-month basis, HKIA has handled 69.7m passengers and 410,020 flight movements, recording year-on-year increases of 7.8% and 3.5% respectively, while cargo throughput dropped by 1.4% to 4.34 million tonnes.

 

On the customer service side the airport has also recently introduced a new ‘Self Bag Drop service’ for several local carriers, including Cathay Pacific, Cathay Dragon and Hong Kong Airlines and this has helped passengers cut their processing times by 50% compared to queuing at the traditional counters, according to C.K. Ng.