Airport traffic soars, with SE Asia and Japan flights leading the way

Hong Kong International Airport handled 3.8 million passengers last month, a year-on-year increase of 2.6 times, with passenger traffic to and from Southeast Asia, mainland and Japan surging the most.

Passenger volume surged to 35 million over the first 11 months of this year, an approximately eight-fold rise compared with the same period in 2022.

Cathay Pacific said it carried a total of around 1.6 million passengers last month, an increase of 210 percent compared with November 2022.

It recorded an increase of more than 700 percent in the number of passengers carried in the first 11 months of 2023, as compared with the same period in 2022.

With December being the first Christmas holiday since Hong Kong reopening borders, Cathay Pacific said it expects to see travel demand to remain strong.

Meanwhile, Greater Bay Airlines opened its first customer service center at the Hong Kong West Kowloon high-speed rail station to provide flight booking, ticketing services, the sale of souvenirs and general inquiries, including information about its sister airline, Donghai Airlines.

The customer service center is located near Arrival Concourse, Level B2, Hong Kong West Kowloon Station of High Speed Rail.

To celebrate the opening of the center, the airline launched a limited-time "Buy One Get One Free" promotion in collaboration with Donghai Airlines.

From now until Saturday, people who purchase a one-way or roundtrip "Flex Go" ticket departing Hong Kong via the Greater Bay Airlines can redeem a one-way or roundtrip ticket for any designated destination departing Shenzhen or Zhuhai through Donghai Airlines.

The airline, which has four Boeing 737 that older-generation jets, started commercial operations in July 2022 and flies to several Asian destinations, including Bangkok, Taipei, Seoul, Tokyo, Osaka and Ho Chi Minh City.

It launched the first flight to Manila, Philippines in November.

The airline has been planning to expand its network to the mainland next year.

marcus.lum@singtaonewscorp.com