HKIA passenger traffic up over 300 pct in 2022

HONG KONG, Jan. 16 (Xinhua) -- The Airport Authority Hong Kong (AAHK) announced on Monday that in 2022, the Hong Kong International Airport (HKIA) handled a total of 5.7 million passengers, representing a year-on-year increase of 318.4 percent.

In 2022, total cargo throughput and flight movements dropped by 16.4 percent and 4.2 percent, to 4.2 million tonnes and 138,700, respectively, the AAHK said.

Statistics showed that in December 2022, the HKIA handled 1.6 million passengers, representing a surge of 938.7 percent compared with the same period last year, and traffic to and from Southeast Asia and Japan experienced the most significant increases.

In December 2022, flight movements increased by 8.7 percent year-on-year to 15,770, cargo throughput saw a 26.4 percent drop to 351,000 tonnes compared to December 2021, and import and export cargos decreased by 33 percent and 26 percent year-on-year respectively, it showed.

Fred Lam, chief executive officer of the AAHK, said that passenger traffic at the HKIA started to pick up in the last quarter of 2022 after the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region government relaxed travel restrictions and quarantine requirements for inbound travelers in the second half of 2022.

Lam said he is confident that passenger traffic will continue to recover at the HKIA with the orderly and comprehensive resumption of normal travel with the mainland.