Robust growth in airport traffic since start of three-runway operation

Traffic at the Hong Kong International Airport saw a robust growth last year as the airport started the three-runway operation, the Airport Authority said.

Over 53 million travelers and 363,305 flights were handled at the Hong Kong International Airport, signifying an increase of 34.3 percent and 31.6 percent respectively, according to the authority.

Total cargo throughput last year saw an annual growth of 14 percent to 4.9 million tonnes, it added.
In December alone, flight movements rose by 12.5 percent year-on-year to 33,550, inching closer to pre-pandemic level, with individual daily flight movements exceeding pre-pandemic level, setting a new record high, the authority said.

Passenger volume increased 18.3 percent year-on-year to 5.1 million, with all passenger segments experiencing “significant growth” compared to the same month last year, especially traffic to and from Southeast Asia, mainland China and Japan.

Cargo throughput last month also increased by 6.6 percent year-on-year to 446,000 tonnes, with a 6.8 percent increase recorded in exports.

Vivian Cheung Kar-fay, acting chief executive officer of the Airport Authority, said last year was a “fruitful and rewarding year.”

“We had a busy Christmas period and are preparing for another peak during the Chinese New Year holidays as we see airlines adding a significant number of flights to meet the high demand,” she added.

The authority added that the airport will further expand its extensive air traffic network with several new destinations and flight routes being added this month.

That includes HK Express launching a new route to Japan’s Sendai, Hong Kong Airlines resuming direct flights to Vancouver and Gold Coast, and new passenger airline Air Premia will start operating flights between Hong Kong and Seoul.

(Michael Shum)