Hong Kong International Airport (HKIA) handled 2.8 million passengers in March 2023, more than 28 times the amount recorded in March 2022. The airport also handled 372,000 tonnes of cargo during the month, a year-on-year growth of 5.8%. Flight movements more than doubled year-on-year to 20,130.
Average daily passenger traffic continued to show a sustained increase over the first three weeks of April, with the airport handling approximately 100,000 per day, reaching 50% of pre-pandemic levels.
Traffic to and from Southeast Asia, Mainland China and Japan recorded the largest number of passengers.
In the first three months, from January 2023 to March 2023, HKIA handled 7 million passengers, nearly 27 times more than the same period last year. Flight movements registered a year-on-year increase of 74.2% to 52,650, while cargo volume decreased by 6.3% to 950,000 tonnes.
On a 12-month rolling basis, passenger volume rose to 12.4 million, representing a 7.7-fold increase over the previous comparable period. Flight movements saw an 11.5% increase to 161,160, while cargo throughput decreased by 16% to 4.1 million tonnes.
Cargo volume grew year-on-year in March 2023 primarily due to the low base for comparison set during the same month last year following pandemic-related supply chain disruptions. Exports grew by 19% year-on-year.
Meanwhile HKIA was recently awarded Level 4 Transformation in Airports Council International's Airport Carbon Accreditation (ACA) programme, which recognises the airport’s commitment to reducing its carbon footprint as well as its achievements in carbon management.