Passenger traffic at Hong Kong International Airport (HKIA) surged to 3.8 million in April, representing a 14.1% growth over the same period last year…
Passenger traffic at Hong Kong International Airport (HKIA) surged to 3.8 million in April, representing a 14.1% growth over the same period last year and an all-time-high record for monthly passenger throughput.
The robust passenger growth was driven by holiday and business travels as both Easter holiday and the Guangzhou Trade Fair fell in the same month. Daily passenger traffic reached a record high of 154,000 on 14 April, the first day of the four-day Easter Break.
Boosted by the busy traffic in April, aircraft movements grew 10.6% to 23,580 as compared to the same month last year, setting a new daily record of 870 on 14 April 2006. Cargo throughput continued to grow with total tonnage up 3% to 294,000.
Commenting on last month`s performance, Mr Hans Bakker, Commercial Director of the Airport Authority Hong Kong (AA), said the visitor traffic growth will continue thanks to the steady increase in passengers particularly from South East Asia and Australasia.
According to the Airports Council International (ACI), the international association for the world`s airports, air passenger and freight traffic worldwide will grow at an annual rate of 4% and 5%, respectively, in 15 years` time, with the Asia Pacific region enjoying the highest growth rate in all categories of air traffic.
To cater for the high demand for air traffic, HKIA has put in place a series of facility and capacity enhancement projects to provide just-in-time facilities to accommodate medium term demands. We are also in the process of formulating a 20-year master development plan for HKIA, Mr Bakker added.
For the past 12 months ended April 2006, HKIA handled 42.1 million passengers, a rise of 9.2% over the previous year. Cargo throughtput and aircraft movements totalled 3.48 million tonnes and 272,400, respectively, increasing by 9.4% and 11.6% year-on-year.
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