Hong Kong International Airport announces Oct-2012 pax

Hong Kong International Airport passenger numbers up 2% - traffic highlights for Oct-2012:

• Passenger numbers: 4.7 million, +1.9%;
• Cargo volume: 346,000 tonnes, +1.1%;
• Aircraft movements: 30,025, +5.1%. [more - original PR]

Hong Kong Airport attributed the passenger traffic growth to a surge in travel by Hong Kong residents for the long National Day holidays, resulting in a 14% rise year-on-year. Passenger traffic to and from South East Asia and Taiwan performed particularly well. Meanwhile, the growth in cargo throughput was primarily due to the 11% year-on-year increase in transshipments. During the month, cargo throughput to and from North America and mainland China outperformed other key regions.

Airport Authority Hong Kong: "We anticipate that passenger traffic and flight movements will continue to grow in the near future. Preliminary numbers on cargo throughput in November also suggest a welcome and strong rebound in the year-end peak months. We are cautiously optimistic about cargo performance for 2012 given the arrival of the holiday season," Stanley Hui, CEO. Source: Company statement, 16-Nov-2012.