Hong Kong airport posts double-digit traffic growth in September

Air traffic at the Hong Kong International Airport continued to perform well in September, with passenger throughput surging 16.9 percent year-on-year to 4.1 million and cargo volume going up 13.9 percent to 346,000 tons, the Airport Authority Hong Kong said Sunday in a statement.

Aircraft movements also recorded a double-digit increase of 15. 9 percent from a year earlier, totaling 26,140, according to the statement.

Last month saw traffic generated by Hong Kong residents and visitors rising by 19 percent and 17 percent respectively compared to the same period last year.

All key regions registered year-on-year growth, with the Chinese mainland and South East Asia remaining the best performers. Transfer and transit passengers also showed a yearly increase of 15 percent in September.

On the cargo front, the increment in tonnage volume was led by robust exports, which surged 18 percent year-on-year. Major consumption markets in North America and Europe continued their momentum with double-digit year-on-year growth. In September, imports grew 9 percent while transshipments were up 10 percent.

From July to September, the airport handled a total of 13.5 million passengers. This represented a yearly increase of 14.3 percent, a steady improvement from second quarter's 11.8 percent and first quarter's 6.6 percent rise, indicating a vigorous growth momentum in the passenger market, it said.

The third-quarter flight movement growth at 15 percent also outstripped that of the previous two quarters, while the increase in cargo tonnage narrowed down but maintained a healthy rate of 18. 4 percent.

Airport Authority Hong Kong CEO Stanley Hui forecast air traffic would continue to rise in the foreseeable future.

"During the Oct. 1 to 7 National Day Golden Week this year, we handled around 924,000 passengers, 75,000 tons of cargo and 6,000 flight movements, representing increases of 10.7 percent, 20.7 percent and 13.2 percent from the corresponding period last year," he said.

During the week-long National Day holiday, known as the "Golden Week", millions of Chinese choose to travel and spent at home and abroad.

A total of 5.56 million passengers passed through land, sea and air control points during the Golden Week, according to statistics provided by Hong Kong's Immigration Department.

The Hong Kong Tourism Board has said that visitor arrivals from the Chinese mainland to Hong Kong went up about 21 percent year on year during the Golden Week.

As for the first nine months of 2010, Hong Kong airport's passenger volume amounted to 38 million, up 10.9 percent from a year earlier. Cargo throughput jumped 28.7 percent to 3 million tons and air traffic movements went up 8.2 percent to 224,890.

"If everything goes well, we are confident that the Hong Kong International Airport will achieve record volumes in both passenger and cargo throughput this year, strengthening its position as a leading international and regional aviation center," Hui added.

Source: Xinhua