HKIA Sees Strong Rebound in Air Traffic in March

(HONG KONG, 24 April 2023, 1800hrs)  –  Airport Authority Hong Kong (AAHK) today released the traffic figures for Hong Kong International Airport (HKIA) for March 2023. During the month, HKIA handled 2.8 million passengers, more than 28 times the amount recorded in March 2022, and 372,000 tonnes of cargo, which represented year-on-year growth of 5.8%. Flight movements in March more than doubled year on year to 20,130.

Average daily passenger traffic continued to show a sustained increase over the first three weeks of April. HKIA has handled approximately 100,000 per day, reaching 50% of pre-pandemic levels.

Passenger demand continued to improve in March 2023 after the lifting of travel restrictions. All passenger segments experienced significant growth compared to the same month last year, including a strong performance by Hong Kong residents. Traffic to and from Southeast Asia, Mainland China and Japan saw the largest increases.

Cargo remained impacted by global economic uncertainties. Although cargo volume grew year on year in March 2023, this was primarily due to the low base for comparison set during the same month last year following pandemic-related supply chain disruptions. Exports grew by 19% year on year. Traffic to and from key trading regions in North America, the Middle East and Europe saw the most significant increases during the month.

Over the first three months of the year, HKIA handled 7.0 million passengers, nearly 27 times more than the same period in 2022. Flight movements registered a year-on-year increase of 74.2% to 52,650. Cargo volume decreased by 6.3% to 950,000 tonnes.

On a 12-month rolling basis, passenger volume rose to 12.4 million, representing a 7.7-fold increase over the previous comparable period. Flight movements saw an 11.5% increase to 161,160, while cargo throughput decreased by 16% to 4.1 million tonnes.

In other news, HKIA was recently awarded Level 4, “Transformation”, in Airports Council International's Airport Carbon Accreditation (ACA) programme, which recognises the airport’s firm commitment to reducing its carbon footprint as well as its achievements in carbon management. Launched in 2009, ACA is the only institutionally endorsed, global carbon management certification standard for airports. It was established to help the airport industry benefit from shared expertise, achieve lower energy consumption and reduce carbon emissions.

Peter Lee, General Manager, Sustainability of AAHK, said, “We are honoured to receive ACA Level 4 accreditation, which underscores our tireless efforts in carbon management. Our pledge is to achieve Net Zero Carbon by 2050, with a midpoint target of 55% in absolute emissions reduction by 2035 from a 2018 baseline. To achieve this, we will continue working closely with our key aviation partners and third parties. We have full confidence in our ability to develop HKIA into one of the world’s greenest airports and contribute to the sustainable development of the region.”