The FINANCIAL — Hong Kong International Airport (HKIA) saw steady growth in all three air traffic figures in October 2017. During the month, passenger volume rose by 7.3% to 6.16 million while flight movements increased by 4% to 35,990 compared to the same month last year.
Cargo throughput went up by 2.3% year-on-year to 430,000 tonnes.
Transfer/transit passengers, which registered year-on-year increase of 14%, attributed the most to the growth in passenger traffic in October. The “super golden week” holiday in the first week of the month also brought positive effect to the growth in passenger traffic. Japan market continued to show the most significant growth amongst the key regions. Passenger traffic to and from Southeast Asia and Mainland China also recorded significant increases.
The growth in cargo throughput last month was mainly driven by 4% year-on-year growth in exports. Amongst the key trading regions, Europe increased most significantly.
Over the first 10 months of 2017, HKIA has welcomed 60.5 million passengers, and handled 349,090 flight movements, marking year-on-year increases of 2.7% and 1.7%, respectively. Cargo throughput soared 9.9% from the same period in 2016 to 4.01 million tonnes, according to Hong Kong International Airport.
On a rolling 12-month basis, HKIA handled 72 million passengers and 417,355 flight movements, recording year-on-year increases of 2.2% and 1.1% respectively, while cargo throughput climbed 9.8% to 4.88 million tonnes.
Meanwhile, HKIA recently received two international accolades for passenger experience and cargo achievements. The “Best Airport in North & East Asia” award was received at a ceremony for the Future Travel Experience Asia Awards 2017 in Singapore. Organised by online media outlet Future Travel Experience, the award recognised HKIA for its outstanding performance in customer experience and innovative leadership.
Vivian Cheung, Deputy Director, Airport Operations of Airport Authority Hong Kong (AA) said, “We are delighted to be recognised by a publication focusing on passenger experience. We have been leveraging smart technologies to provide passengers with a pleasant and hassle-free journey from curb to gate at HKIA. For example, we have recently launched a smart luggage tag ‘MyTAG’, with which, after pairing up with the ‘HKG MyFlight’ mobile app, passengers will receive notification when their checked bags are about to arrive at the baggage reclaim carousel. We will continue to explore different innovative solutions to further enhance the airport experience for our passengers.”
In addition, HKIA received the “Asia Pacific Airport of the Year – Industry Choice Award” for the fourth time at the Payload Asia Awards 2017. The Payload Asia Awards, organised by air cargo publication Payload Asia, commended HKIA’s consistent world class standards in cargo handling. Winners in the Industry Choice Awards category were selected by an international panel of industry-wide experts based on criteria covering market leadership, operational performance, value proposition and key factors that set an airport apart from its peers.
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