Hong Kong Airport sees steady passenger growth in 2019
Hong Kong International Airport (HKIA) reported steady growth in passenger traffic and flight movements in the first half of 2019. From January to June this year, HKIA handled 37.8 million passengers and 212,975 flight movements, increasing 2.5% and 0.8%, respectively, over the same period last year. Cargo throughput decreased 6.7% to 2.3 million tonnes in the first 6 months, compared to the same period last year.
In the first half of 2019, passenger traffic was driven by strong growth in transfer/ transit traffic. Weak demand in all three cargo categories – imports, exports and transshipments – was observed during the period, amid the uncertain global economic situation.
In June, passenger traffic increased to 6.3 million, representing year-on-year growth of 2.1%. Flight movements recorded a slight drop of 0.1% to 35,295, while cargo throughput declined 8.6% to 387,000 tonnes.
Passenger growth in June was largely supported by strong growth in transfer/ transit traffic. Passenger traffic to and from Japan, Europe and Southeast Asia recorded the most significant increases.
On cargo, the decrease in throughput in June was attributed to weaker performance in transshipments and imports, which dropped by 13% and 11%, respectively. Amongst the key trading regions, cargo throughput to Southeast Asia and Europe decreased most significantly.
On a 12-month rolling basis, passengers and flight movements grew 2.1% and 1.0% to 75.6 million and 429,435, respectively. Cargo throughput amounted to 5.0 million tonnes, a decrease of 3.5% over the same period last year.
Meanwhile, HKIA was awarded “Top Asian Airport Efficiency Excellence” in the Air Transport Research Society (ATRS) Global Airport Benchmarking Report, which marks the ninth time HKIA has been recognised with this top honour since the award’s establishment in 2003. The report measures and compares airport operations performance of over 200 airports across Asia Pacific, Europe and North America in a number of areas including productivity efficiency, unit costs and cost competitiveness, financial results and airport charges.
C K Ng, Executive Director, Airport Operations, Airport Authority Hong Kong said, “We are honoured to receive this award, which is the result of the concerted efforts of our 73,000 airport staff, who are dedicated to providing excellent service for our passengers. Building on innovations and smart technology, HKIA will continue to launch new initiatives and passenger-focused features for worldwide travellers to enjoy a seamless and pleasant travel experience.”
Separately, HKIA has been named the “Best Global Airport” by The Asian Freight, Logistics & Supply Chain Awards (AFLAS) of Asia Cargo News for the fourth consecutive year, which commended HKIA for its development of cargo-related infrastructure, cost competitiveness and facilitation of air cargo ancillary services.