Summer brings buoyant traffic growth for Hong Kong and Frankfurt
SYDNEY (Centre for Asia Pacific Aviation) - Hong Kong International Airport recorded a new monthly passenger record in July 2005 of just under 3.8 million, up 10.3% year-on-year, while aircraft movements rose 11% to 22,655. Significantly, freight demand was robust, with “continuous strong demand” from the US and Europe contributing to a 12.4% jump in volume year-on-year to 289,000 tonnes.
Meanwhile, Fraport reports an 8.3% surge in freight traffic in July at Frankfurt Airport to a record 158,277 tonnes, due to a continued “boom” in traffic to and from Asia. Also, for the first time, the airport handled more than 5 million passengers in a month, up 5.2% year-on-year. Traffic to and from European locations was the “main growth generator” in July. Passenger figures to Spain, Italy, Greece and Turkey was strong, while demand on China and India services was also buoyant.
The result reflects the strong performance of Cathay Pacific and Lufthansa, the respective major carriers at Hong Kong and Frankfurt, which both reported profitable operations in the first half of 2005 – a period when many of their global counterparts struggled under extraordinarily high fuel costs.