HKIA Cargo Throughput Continues to Grow in May

(HONG KONG, 11 June 2021, 1800hrs) – Airport Authority Hong Kong (AA) today released the traffic figures for Hong Kong International Airport (HKIA) for May 2021. During the month, HKIA handled 59,000 passengers, recording a year-on-year increase of 57.7%, while flight movements dropped 4.3% to 10,875. Cargo throughput was 405,000 tonnes, a 7.3% increase compared to the same month last year.

The growth in cargo volume was mainly attributed to a double-digit growth in imports compared to the same month last year. Cargo to and from Southeast Asia and India experienced the most significant increases during the month.

The year-on-year increase in passenger traffic was mainly attributed to the low base for comparison. Passenger traffic remained significantly below the pre-pandemic level of 2019 due to the on-going COVID-19 situation.

Over the first five months of the year, HKIA handled 296,000 passengers and 51,765 flight movements, representing year-on-year decreases of 96.4% and 38.5%, respectively. Cargo throughput rose 12.2% to 1.9 million tonnes.

On a 12-month rolling basis, passengers and flight movements declined 98.2% and 60.7% to 886,000 and 128,245, respectively. Cargo throughput saw an increase of 1.5% to 4.7 million tonnes.

In other news, HKIA was awarded Gold Recognition in the Airport Council International (ACI) Asia-Pacific Green Airports Recognition 2021 programme for its outstanding achievement in improving local air quality through the airport’s “Ground Services Equipment (GSE) Pooling Scheme – Phase 1”. 

The AA rolled out the new GSE Pooling Scheme in 2018, with initial implementation at midfield apron. Under the scheme, ramp handling operators (RHOs) serving different aircraft can rent from the AA critical GSE stationed at parking stands. Instead of deploying their own diesel-powered GSE from flight to flight across the apron, RHOs can make use of the AA’s GSE, of which 95% are electric-powered, at every parking stand. This will minimise the overall GSE mobilisation and traffic on the apron, thus reducing carbon emissions and saving energy.   

Steven Yiu, Deputy Director, Service Delivery of the AA, said, “We are honoured to receive this recognition from ACI, which reflects the AA’s dedication to reduce HKIA’s environmental impact and make it one of the world’s greenest airports. I would also like to express my appreciation to our business partners and stakeholders for supporting the smooth implementation of the GSE Pooling Scheme. For the next phase, the scheme will be expanded beyond Midfield to cover parking stands at Terminal 1 and eventually the future T2 Concourse.”