Hong Kong Airport's May Passenger Numbers Fall 12.7%

Source: News.gov.hk    Author:    06/14/2009

Subject Concerned: Cargo   Airport   

Hong Kong International Airport (HKIA) handled 3.6 million passenger trips in May, down 12.7% on the same period a year ago. It also handled less cargo - just 259,000 tonnes - down 17.6%. The Airport Authority Hong Kong (AAHK) says air-traffic movements fell 9.1%, to 23,435.

The double-digit drop in passenger volume was across the board with all traffic types, but it was mainly due to falling visitor traffic - down more than 20% in May over last year. Markets with pronounced drops were Southeast Asia, the Mainland, North America, Taiwan and Japan.

The continuing shrinking markets of the US and Europe accounted for May's weak cargo-export figure, which recorded a more than 20% year-on-year decline. During the same period, imports fell 15% while transshipment traffic dropped 9%.

In May, both air-traffic movements and passenger throughput recorded significant drops, more than the average declines of 5.9% and 4.3% respectively, for the first four months of 2009.

"The negative performance reflected largely the impact of continuing global recession and the new but serious impact of Influenza A virus, further weakening the aviation market and resulting in airlines reducing flight frequencies. This prevailing trend in passenger traffic and air traffic movements is expected to continue and will likely further deteriorate in June," authority Chief Executive Officer Stanley Hui said.

In the first five months of this year, the number of passenger trips fell 6%, to 19.1 million, and cargo tonnage dropped to 1.2 million, down 21.1% on last year. Air-traffic movements slid 6.6%, to 116,795.

For the 12 months up to May, the airport served 47.4 million passengers, and handled 3.3 million tonnes of cargo and 292,940 aircraft movements. These represented year-on-year falls of 3.8%, 14.1% and 2.8%.

Photograph: Three jets belonging to various Hong Kong-based airlines parked at Hong Kong International Airport (HKIA).