Cathay Pacific and HK Express together carried approximately 3.2 million passengers last month, the highest so far for the year as the traditional summer peak season for passenger business kicked off, Cathay Pacific Airways (0293) said.
Hong Kong flagship carrier Cathay Pacific carried 24 percent more passengers to nearly 2.5 million in July, bringing the total passengers number in the first seven months of the year to 16.1 million, up by 27 percent from a year ago.
The robust demand Cathay Pacific saw in July was primarily driven by long-haul traffic to and from Hong Kong in the first half of the month, particularly among students and those visiting friends and relatives, followed by leisure traffic to regional destinations such as South Korea and Southeast Asia in the second half of July, the airline said in a filing on Friday.
Cathay expects student traffic to provide a travel boost in September ahead of the new school year, while the National Day and Mid-Autumn Festival holiday periods are expected to stimulate leisure travel demand from Hong Kong and the Chinese Mainland in October.
Budget airline HK Express carried more than 680,000 passengers in July 2025, an increase of 22 percent year on year.
Demand for flights to Japan remained subdued in July due to earthquake rumors, it said.
While it is gradually seeing a pickup in bookings in August, they are yet to return to normal levels, the filing said.
On the cargo front, Cathay Cargo carried 11 percent more cargo in July 2025 than a year ago, reflecting the movement of air cargo ahead of the tariff timelines.
Capacity grew by 6 percent compared with the previous month, with strong demand from Southeast Asia to Hong Kong in particular, driven by machinery and perishables, it noted, adding that the external environment remains uncertain and it will continue to stay vigilant and agile while serving demand where it arises.
