Hong Kong Airport pax up 9%, record movements in Mar-2012

Hong Kong International Airport passenger numbers up 9% - traffic highlights:

• Mar-2012:
  
  • Passenger numbers: 4.6 million, +9.0% year-on-year;
  • Cargo volume: 368,000 tonnes, -0.4%;
  • Aircraft movements: 29,595, +5.2%;
• Three months ended 31-Mar-2012:
  • Passenger numbers: 13.6 million, +8%;
  • Cargo volume: 930,000 tonnes, -1.5%;
  • Aircraft movements: 85,170, +6.6%. [more - original PR]

Hong Kong Airport attributed passenger traffic growth to Hong Kong resident (+20%) and visitor traffic (+8%) with traffic to/from mainland China and Southeast Asia performing well. The airport also attributed cargo traffic declines to a 4.5% decline in imports and a 3% decline in transshipments while exports rose 3%. Cargo traffic to/from Southeast Asia outperformed other key regions. According to Airport Authority Hong Kong CEO Stanley Hui, Hong Kong Airport became one of the world's 10 busiest passenger airports for the first time with 54 million passengers in 2011. [more - CAPA Analysis]

Airport Authority Hong Kong: "Looking forward, we are confident about the outlook for air traffic performance at HKIA. With runway capacity at HKIA having increased to 63 flights per hour since late March, daily scheduled fights are close to 1000 for the summer operating season. We believe passenger volume and flight movements are likely to sustain their growth trends, while cargo tonnage should continue to improve at a slower pace," Stanley Hui, CEO. Source: Hong Kong Airport, 22-Apr-2012.