Hong Kong airport expects up to 1,200 daily flights during Christmas–New Year peak

Hong Kong International Airport is preparing for one of its busiest periods of the year, with the Airport Authority estimating that around 1,200 flights will take off and land each day during the Christmas and New Year holidays.

The authority said Christmas Eve to Boxing Day would mark the peak period for outbound travel, while the four days from January 1 would see the highest number of arrivals. Flight movements on Christmas Eve alone may exceed 1,220.

Passenger traffic is also expected to surge, with the Airport Authority projecting figures similar to this year’s earlier holiday peaks—up to 200,000 travelers a day.

Despite recent tensions in China-Japan relations and reports of ticket cancellations for mainland travelers bound for Japan, Wing Yeung Tat-wing, director of service delivery at the Airport Authority, said flight operations between Hong Kong and Japan had not been affected.

He added that Taipei, Bangkok, and Tokyo are among the destinations with the greatest increase in flights during the festive period. “We expect the holiday travel pattern to be similar to previous years,” he said.

Separately, the Airport Authority on Friday launched a two-day youth career information expo, offering more than 1,500 job vacancies across over 20 airport-related companies. Positions range from aircraft maintenance to security and customer service, with the aim of attracting young talent into the aviation sector.

The authority said the number of airport staff has risen from around 53,000 after the pandemic to 70,000 today. With the full commissioning of the three-runway system, the phased reopening of Terminal 2, and the rollout of Airport City developments, manpower demand is expected to remain strong.

The fair drew many jobseekers, including a 26-year-old attendee who said he was optimistic about the airport’s prospects and hoped to find a well-paid role that suited him. A housewife from Tung Chung said she was searching for part-time work with flexible hours.

The Airport Authority also hosted seminars aimed at secondary school students to encourage early engagement with the aviation industry.