Hong Kong Int. Airport Reports January's Cargo and Passenger Traffic

(24 Feb 2022)  Hong Kong International Airport (HKIA) handled 71,000 passengers and 391,000 tonnes of cargo in January 2022, year-on-year decreases of 0.1% and 4.7%, respectively.

Flight movements during the month saw year-on-year growth of 5.5% to 12,010, with freighter movements increasing by 14.1% to 7,165 from the 6,278 recorded in January 2021.

Passenger volume remained significantly lower than pre-pandemic levels recorded in 2019, while tightened entry restrictions led to a decline in transfer/transit passengers in January 2022 compared to the same month last year.

Cathay Pacific aircraft at HKIA. Picture by Steven Howard of TravelNewsAsia.com

Departure passengers to Southeast Asia and arrival passengers from mainland China experienced the most significant increases during the month.

Cargo throughput in January 2022 declined due to flight reductions amid the worldwide emergence of the Omicron variant of COVID19.

Transshipments were affected most significantly, declining by double digits year-on-year, although exports saw 4.2% growth compared to January 2021.

Cargo to and from North America experienced the most significant decrease during the month.

On a 12-month rolling basis, passenger volume fell by 57.6% to 1.4 million, while cargo throughput and flight movements rose by 10.8% and 4.8% to 5.0 million and 145,450, respectively.