The growth in March passenger traffic was driven by 18% year-on-year growth in transfer/transit traffic. Passenger traffic to/from North Asia and Southeast Asia recorded the most significant increases.
HONG KONG – Hong Kong International Airport (HKIA) set a new monthly record of 34,310 flight movements in March, growing by 5.7% compared to the same month last year. Monthly passengers also climbed significantly by 11.4% year-on-year to 5.74 million, while cargo volume recorded a drop of 8.2% to 364,000 tonnes.
The growth in March passenger traffic was driven by 18% year-on-year growth in transfer/transit traffic. Passenger traffic to/from North Asia and Southeast Asia recorded the most significant increases.
The decline in cargo throughput last month was mainly attributed to a 16% year-on-year drop in exports. Transshipments recorded a slight 1% decline, while imports registered a 2% increase compared to the same month last year. Traffic to / from North America outperformed other key regions during the month.
The airport also set a new daily record for flight movements on 3 April, with a total of 1,210 flight movements recorded on the day. The increase was due to additional flights during the Easter holiday travel peak.
In other news, HKIA’s official website (www.hkairport.com) and mobile applications for iOS and Android “My Flight” each won Gold Awards in this year’s Web Accessibility Recognition Scheme co-organised by the Office of the Government Chief Information Officer and the Equal Opportunities Commission.
Andy Bien, Chief Information Officer of Airport Authority Hong Kong, said, “We are delighted to receive these awards, which represent important recognition from the industry. Over the past year, we have further enhanced our website and mobile applications for users with different needs. These include enhancing colour contrast of the screens and providing input assistance to improve accessibility. We aim to provide a pleasant experience for all users, and will continue to explore different initiatives to further enhance our services.”
During the first quarter of 2015, HKIA handled a total of 16.4 million passenger trips, 1 million tonnes of cargo and 98,890 flight movements, representing year-on-year growth of 8.8%, 2.9% and 5.3%, respectively.
On a 12-month rolling basis, passenger volume rose by 6.6% from a year earlier to 64.7 million, while cargo volume rose 5.5% to 4.4 million tonnes. Flight movements also increased 4.9% year-on-year to 395,975.
Photo caption: Andy Bien, Chief Information Officer of Airport Authority Hong Kong, receives the Gold Awards in Web Accessibility Recognition Scheme.
Theodore is the Co-Founder and Managing Editor of TravelDailyNews Media Network; his responsibilities include business development and planning for TravelDailyNews long-term opportunities.
