Air Traffic Continues to Grow at HKIA in October

Airport Authority Hong Kong (AAHK) today released air traffic figures for Hong Kong International Airport (HKIA) for October 2023. During the month, HKIA handled 3.8 million passengers, representing a four-fold year-on-year increase, while flight movements approximately doubled to 26,265 compared to October 2022.

All passenger segments experienced significant growth compared with the same month last year. Traffic to and from Southeast Asia, Mainland China and Japan saw the largest increases.

Strong growth momentum of cargo throughput continued in October, rising 12.1% year on year to 393,000 tonnes. Exports and transshipments recorded 24.7% and 2.1% year-on-year increases, respectively. Traffic to and from key trading regions in Europe, North America and the Middle East posted the most significant increases during the month.

Over the first 10 months of the year, passenger volume increased 9.5 times to 31.4 million while flight movements nearly doubled to 218,370 compared with the same period in 2022. Cargo volume increased slightly by 0.1% to 3.5 million tonnes year-on-year.

On a 12-month rolling basis, passenger volume was 34 million, 9.4 times higher than the previous comparable period. Flight movements increased by 78.7% year on year to 247,805. Cargo throughput decreased by 5.6% to 4.2 million tonnes.

Meanwhile, HKIA was named “Cargo Airport of the Year – Asia Pacific” and “Air Cargo Technology Provider of the Year” in the 10th edition of the Payload Asia Awards. The awards, organised by Payload Asia, celebrate achievements in the air freight industry, commending industry leaders and forward thinkers of the air cargo and logistics supply chain who lead the new economy at the forefront of innovation. Winners are determined by online voting and the evaluation of an expert jury panel.

Cissy Chan, Executive Director, Commercial of AAHK, said “We are delighted to be recognised by Payload Asia for our continuous efforts to enhance HKIA’s cargo capabilities through innovations and technologies. Among other new initiatives, we developed HKIA Cargo Data Platform, an integrated platform that uses technologies including blockchain and smart contracts to connect multiple parties along the supply chain for more streamlined operations and communications. To support our growth strategies, we have comprehensive and advanced cold chain facilities for handling temperature-sensitive cargo. We also embrace automation technology and have introduced driverless tractors to cargo delivery on apron. We will continue to upgrade our services and facilities to further strengthen HKIA’s position as the world’s leading cargo airport.”