HKIA Reports Steady Passenger Growth in H1 2019; Cargo Down

From January to June this year, Hong Kong International Airport (HKIA) handled 37.8 million passengers and 212,975 flight movements, an increase of 2.5% and 0.8% respectively over the same period last year.

Cargo throughput decreased 6.7% to 2.3 million tonnes in the first 6 months, compared to the same period last year.

In the first half of 2019, passenger traffic was driven by strong growth in transfer/ transit traffic. Weak demand in all three cargo categories – imports, exports and transshipments – was observed during the period, amid the uncertain global economic situation. In June, passenger traffic increased to 6.3 million, representing year-on-year growth of 2.1%. Flight movements recorded a slight drop of 0.1% to 35,295, while cargo throughput declined 8.6% to 387,000 tonnes.

Passenger growth in June was largely supported by strong growth in transfer/ transit traffic. Passenger traffic to and from Japan, Europe and Southeast Asia recorded the most significant increases.

On cargo, the decrease in throughput in June was attributed to weaker performance in transshipments and imports, which dropped by 13% and 11%, respectively. Amongst the key trading regions, cargo throughput to Southeast Asia and Europe decreased most significantly.

On a 12-month rolling basis, passengers and flight movements grew 2.1% and 1.0% to 75.6 million and 429,435, respectively. Cargo throughput amounted to 5.0 million tonnes, a decrease of 3.5% over the same period last year.

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