Hong Kong Airport (HKIA) handled 2.1 million passengers in February 2023, marking a year-on-year (Y-O-Y) surge of approximately 24 times as reported by the Airport Authority Hong Kong. The airport recorded 290,000 tonnes of cargo volume with 6.7 % Y-O-Y rise and flight movement saw a rise of 95.7% with 16,305 flights in February.
The cargo volume was impacted by global economic uncertainties but the rise in cargo volume was mainly due to low base for comparison with that February 2022. Trans shipments and exports increased by 46% and 3% year-on-year respectively. The Middle East, Mainland China and North America saw the most significant growth in terms of cargo volume.
Hong Kong airport saw significant growth across all passenger segments, mostly due to relaxation of travel restrictions as compared to the same time last month. Traffic to and from Southeast Asia and Japan recorded the most significant increases.
Over the first two months of the year, the airport handled 4.2 million passengers, marking an increase of around 26 times compared to the same period in 2022. Flight movements registered year-on-year increase by about 60% to 32,520, while cargo volume dropped by 12.8% to 578,000 tonnes.
On a 12-month rolling basis, passenger volume increased year on year by around six times to 9.7 million, while flight movements raised 3.9% to 150,895. Cargo throughput saw a decline of 17.2% to 4.1 million tonnes.
Flight movements and passenger volume have been going up as flights on more routes continued to resume in recent months. On March 26, direct flights between HKIA and Shanghai Hongqiao International Airport have resumed, with three daily flights to Hongqiao initially.