Hong Kong achieves record-breaking passengers numbers in 2018

Hong Kong International Airport (HKIA) has recorded continuous traffic growth in 2018, with all three air traffic categories reaching new annual heights. During the year, HKIA handled 74.7 million passengers and 427,725 flight movements, representing yearly increases of 2.5 per cent and 1.7 per cent respectively. The total cargo throughput also increased by 1.5 per cent year on year to 5.1 million tonnes.

Fred Lam, Chief Executive Officer of Airport Authority Hong Kong (AA), said: “It’s gratifying to see HKIA scale new heights in 2018 on all three air traffic categories, attesting to the dedication, resilience and contribution of our 73,000 airport community members. We are also honoured to be awarded with a number of recognitions during the year, solidifying HKIA’s leading position as a regional and international aviation hub.”

In 2018, HKIA was recognised as the “Airport of the Year” by International Airport Review, in the annual IAR Awards, for the work it does to ensure that the airport runs to the very best of its ability. 

In December 2018, flight movements and passenger volume experienced steady growth. Flight movements reached 37,085, registering a 1.2 per cent year-on-year increase. Passenger volume during the month rose 1.7 per cent yearly to reach 6.53 million, while cargo throughput slightly decreased 5.2 per cent over December 2017 to 448,000 tonnes.

Passenger growth in December was mainly driven by three per cent growth in visitor traffic. During the month, Hong Kong resident travel also experienced two per cent growth. Overall passenger traffic to / from Japan, Southeast Asia and Europe recorded the most significant increases.

Amid the uncertain global economic situations, both imports and exports dropped by seven per cent last month, resulting the decrease in overall cargo throughput. Among the key trading regions, traffic to / from Europe and Southeast Asia decreased most significantly in the month.

“Looking forward, several capacity enhancement projects will commence to cater for the surging demand. The Terminal 1 Annex Building will commence operation in 2019. After the commissioning, there will be over 40 new check-in counters with self-bag drop facilities and two additional baggage reclaim carousels. The project will also provide more seats, shops and catering outlets in the expanded Arrivals Hall. Meanwhile, to keep pace with ever-changing traveller dynamics and technological innovations, we will continue to launch new initiatives and passenger-focused features to provide a vibrant, world-class experience for travellers,” Lam concluded.