Record Year for Hong Kong Int. Airport

Hong Kong International Airport (HKIA) has reported another year of strong traffic performance, setting new annual records in both passenger volume and flight movements.

Last year, HKIA welcomed a total of 56.5 million passengers and handled 352,000 aircraft movements, representing annual growth of 4.7% and 5.3% respectively. Cargo volume showed rebound over the past five months, making the total cargo handled for the whole year rose 2.2% to 4 million tonnes.

HKIA also reported 30,800 flight movements in December 2012, a 5.1% year-on-year increase and a new monthly record. The previous record for monthly flight movements was set in August 2012. During the month, the airport also received five million passengers and handled 372,000 tonnes of cargo, registering year-on-year growth of 3.9% and 7.6% respectively.

The growth in passenger traffic was driven mainly by Hong Kong resident travel, which saw a 7% rise over the same month last year. Passenger traffic to and from South East Asia and Taiwan performed particularly well. Growth in December cargo throughput was primarily due to an 8% year-on-year growth in exports. During the month, cargo throughput to and from North America and the Chinese Mainland outperformed other key regions.

Stanley Hui Hon-chung, Chief Executive Officer of Airport Authority Hong Kong, said, "Despite the challenging global economic environment, regional economic growth continued to drive traffic increases at HKIA in 2012. This past year we welcomed nine new airlines and expanded our global network to about 170 destinations. The airport community's 65,000 staff also keeps delivering consistently world-class service, delighting travellers from Hong Kong and around the world and helping HKIA win recognition as the world’s best airport more than 50 times over the years."

New annual records were also set in cross-boundary traffic, underlining HKIA's position as an increasingly important multi-modal transport centre connecting Hong Kong to the Mainland. During the year, traffic between HKIA and Pearl River Delta destinations via limousines/ coaches and ferry services at the SkyPier grew by 3.5% and 8% to over 1.9 million and 2.6 million passenger trips respectively.

"Heading into 2013, whilst the financial woes in the Eurozone will probably continue and the weak market conditions in the US remain for some time, GDP growth forecasts for the Chinese Mainland and South East Asia are 8.1% and 5.2%, respectively, much higher than most other parts in the world. We are therefore cautiously optimistic about achieving mild traffic growth at HKIA in 2013. The over HK$12 billion Midfield and apron development projects are in full swing, which will enable us to manage traffic growth in the medium-term. We are also keenly focused on achieving sustainable development while operating HKIA safely, efficiently and reliably, in line with the airport’s unsurpassed reputation for service excellence," Mr Hui added.