Hong Kong Airport welcomed significantly fewer passengers in August after unrest in the city

Hong Kong International Airport (HKIA) handled 6.0 million passengers and 35,655 air traffic movements in August 2019, representing year-on-year declines of 12.4% and 3.5% respectively, according to figures published by Airport Authority Hong Kong (AA) today. Cargo throughput dropped 11.5% year-on-year to 382,000 tonnes in August.

The drop in passenger volume was mainly attributable to a decrease in visitor traffic. Passenger traffic to and from Mainland China, Southeast Asia and Taiwan experienced significant declines compared to August 2018.

Amid global trade uncertainties, cargo volume continued to contract in August. Transshipments and imports declined by 19% and 15% year-on-year, respectively. The figures for Southeast Asia and Mainland China decreased most significantly among key trading regions.

During the month, airport and flight operations were disrupted by public assemblies at the airport on a number of days. C K Ng, Executive Director, Airport Operations of the AA said:  “In the past few months, there have been huge challenges to airport operations at times. Thanks to the concerted efforts of the airport community, we managed to maintain normal operations and minimise impact on travellers. I would like to express my gratitude to all airport staff who continue to perform their duties with admirable professionalism and dedication.”

Over the first eight months of the year, HKIA handled 50.6 million passengers and 285,495 air traffic movements, up 0.3% and 0.2%, respectively, compared to the same period last year. Cargo throughput recorded 3.08 million, down 7.4% compared to the same period last year.

On a 12-month rolling basis, passenger volume and flight movements grew by 0.4% and 0.3% to 74.8 million and 428,290, respectively, while cargo throughput recorded 4.9 million tonnes, a decrease of 5.3% year on year.