Source: Xinhua Author: 04/20/2009
Subject Concerned: Cargo Airport
The Hong Kong International Airport (HKIA) handled 3.9 million passengers and 268,000 tons of cargo in March, down 7.9 percent and 19.8 percent over the same month last year, the Airport Authority Hong Kong (AAHK) said on April 20.
Air traffic movements contracted by 7.5 percent to 23,805 year-on-year. Hong Kong resident passenger traffic fell 15 percent as the Easter holiday fell in April this year but in March last year.
Visitor arrivals fell 9 percent with long-haul markets like North America and Europe as well as regional markets like North Asia.
Major markets continued to record double-digit falls for cargo throughput, with the airport's export tonnage down 25 percent as key markets like North America and Southeast Asia registered a significant yearly decline of more than 30 percent.
Imports also dropped 17 percent while transhipments fell 9 percent year-on-year.
The first quarter saw a 7.1 percent reduction in passengers at 11.3 million. Cargo volume was down 22.8 percent to 676,000 tons, while air traffic movements slid 6.6 percent to 69,285.
For the year up to March, the airport handled 47.7 million passengers, 3.4 million tons of cargo and 296,230 flight movements, representing yearly decreases of 2.5 percent, 10 percent and 1.1 percent, respectively.