PASSENGER TRAFFIC UP AND CARGO DOWN AT HONG KONG INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT

Hong Kong International Airport handled 5.89 million passengers and 32,430 flight movements in February, marking year-on-year increases of 1.1% and 0.3%, respectively. 

However, cargo throughput decreased by 14.4% to 274,000 tonnes due to unfavourable macro-economic conditions.

The totals mean that 12.4 million passengers (+3.6%) and 676,000 tonnes of cargo (-8.6%) passed through the gateway on 68,960 flights (0.9%), in the first two months of 2019. 

According to HKIA, passenger volume during January and February 2019 were mainly driven by 7% year-on-year growth in transfer/transit traffic. 

Japan and Southeast Asia recorded the most significant traffic increases over the first two months of the year.

Amid global economic uncertainty, cargo traffic saw 10% drops in both imports and exports in these two months, which are consistent with the softening cargo market in the region. 

Amongst key trading regions, cargo traffic to and from Europe and Southeast Asia experienced the most significant decreases.

On a 12-month rolling basis, HKIA handled 75.1 million passengers and 428,365 flight movements, representing increases of 2.7% and 1.4% over the same period last year. 

Cargo throughput saw a slight decrease of 0.9% to 5.06 million tonnes.

In other news, the HKIA Remote City Terminal (RCT) at Guangzhou East Railway Station commenced operation on March 1, providing a seamless multi-modal transportation experience connecting travellers between Guangzhou to the rest of the world via HKIA. 

Passengers offered shuttle service from the RCT to the nearby Lianhuashan Port for high-speed ferries to come to HKIA directly, which passengers can also enjoy airline check-in services at the port.

Steven Yiu, deputy director, service delivery of Airport Authority Hong Kong, said: “HKIA has long been established as a multi-modal transportation hub, facilitating passengers to go easily between the airport and cities in the Greater Bay Area via high-speed ferries, coaches and limousines. 

"The connection has become more extensive with the recent opening of Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge and Guangzhou-Shenzhen-Hong Kong Express Rail Link. 

"This is the latest addition of RCTs in the Greater Bay Area, making a total of 15 RCTs across the region. More RCTs will be added in the coming years, especially in the Western Pearl River Delta region.”