Passenger air traffic numbers performed well in January at Hong Kong International Airport, which registered double-digit growth of 13.3% to 5.9m, according to Airport Authority Hong Kong (AAHK).

 

Most of this growth derived from the 17% increase in overseas travel by Hong Kong residents, while visitor and transfer/transit passenger totals achieved strong growth of 13% and 11%. At the same time, passenger traffic to and from Southeast Asia and Mainland China was the busiest over the period.

 

Executive Director, Airport Operations of Airport Authority Hong Kong CK Ng commented: “Along with the continuous steady growth in monthly figures, we are delighted to report a 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 Ng.

 

Airport Authority Hong Kong also reported that passenger volume and flight movements at HKIA climbed by 9.1% and 4.1% to 69.2m and 407,830 respectively over the same period last year – on a rolling 12-month basis.

 

HKIA added that flight movements rose 5.4% to 35,195 compared to the same month last year, while cargo volume also reached 361,000 tonnes in January – up 1.5%.