Huge increase in passenger traffic at Hong Kong International Airport

Hong Kong International Airport handled 3.1 million passengers in April, a massive upturn on the 126,000 that passed through its facilities in the travel restricted same month a year ago.

Compared to the same month last year, flight movements more than doubled to 21,545, while cargo throughput declined by 7.7% to 347,000 tonnes.

All passenger segments experienced significant growth in April, especially Hong Kong residents. Traffic to and from Southeast Asia, Mainland China, and Japan recorded the most significant increases.

Cargo volume remained impacted by global economic uncertainties. Overall cargo volume declined in April, with import cargo decreasing by 24% compared to the same month last year.

Traffic to and from key trading regions in Southeast Asia and Taiwan saw the most significant decreases during the month.

April’s figures mean that in the first four months of the year, the airport handled 10.1 million passengers, 26 times more than it did in the same period in 2022.

Flight movements increased by 83.1% year-on-year to 74,200, while cargo volume dropped by 6.7% to 1.3 million tonnes.

On a 12-month rolling basis, passenger volume increased year-on-year by more than nine times to 15.4 million, while flight movements rose 19.3% to 172,395. Cargo throughput saw a decrease of 16.4% to 4.1 million tonnes.

Steven Yiu, Airport Authority Hong Kong’s executive director for airport operations, said, “Following the resumption of normal travel, passenger volume and flight at HKIA have been picking up gradually.

“In April, on average the airport handled over 100,000 passengers and 700 flights per day respectively, representing 50% and 60% of pre-pandemic levels.

“We are excited that air traffic continues to increase, and we look forward to welcoming more travellers to Hong Kong or making use of our wide network for transferring to different destinations.”

To meet rising demand, airlines operating at HKIA have been expanding their networks by adding more destinations, such as those in Japan, South Korea and Thailand, and increasing the frequency of services.

New flight routes have been also launched, including a direct service between Urumqi and Hong Kong.