Air cargo registers significant growth at HK airport

Cargo volume and air traffic movements at Hong Kong International Airport (HKIA) rose 21.2 percent and 4.4 percent year on year, to 334,000 tonnes and 30,290 in January, official figures released Sunday indicated.

Meanwhile, passenger trips dropped 5.1 percent to 4.6 million during the period, according to the Airport Authority.

Hong Kong resident travel dropped 21 percent year on year, while visitor traffic grew two percent in January, said the authority.

All major markets showed growth in cargo last month, with Taiwan and North America outperforming other key regions. In addition, imports, exports and transshipments all grew by double digits.

The authority's Chief Executive Officer Stanley Hui attributed the substantial surge in cargo throughput and the single-digit drop in passenger trips to the impact of Chinese New Year.

"Likewise, with most factories on the Mainland closed for the Chinese New Year holidays, air cargo is expected to decline in February over last year," he added.

According to the authority, on a rolling 12-month basis, the airport's passenger throughput rose 3.2 percent to 56.2 million. Both cargo volume and aircraft movements went up 5.2 percent to 4.1 million tonnes and 352,950.