Hong Kong Airport sees transshipment traffic decline
18 / 02 / 2022
Photo: HKIA
Hong Kong International Airport (HKIA) handled 391,000 tonnes of cargo in January, a 4.7% decline on the same month in 2021 (410,000 tonnes) as transshipment traffic fell.
Airport Authority Hong Kong (AAHK) said that freighter flight movements at the world’s largest international cargo hub saw year-on-year growth of 14.1% to 7,165 from the 6,278 in January last year.
AAHK said that cargo throughput declined due to flight reductions amid the worldwide emergence of the Omicron variant of COVID-19.
“Transshipments were affected most significantly, declining by double digits year on year, although exports saw 4.2% growth compared to January 2021.
“Overall cargo to and from North America experienced the most significant decrease during the month.”
On a 12-month rolling basis, passenger volume at Hong Kong fell by 57.6% to 1.4m, while cargo throughput rose by 10.8% to just over 5m tonnes.
In January, AAHK said cargo throughput in 2021 at Hong Kong International Airport (HKIA) rose by 12.5% year on year to 5m tonnes, exceeding the 4.8m tonnes recorded in 2019.
Meanwhile, quarantine measures imposed on Hong Kong-based aircrew saw Cathay Pacific suffer a 31.8% fall in January’s cargo volumes to 74,242 tonnes compared with the same month in 2021.
