Hong Kong International Airport's cargo volume jumps 21.2%

As air traffic movement edged up 4.4%.

According to a release, cargo volume and air traffic movements at Hong Kong International Airport in January rose 21.2% and 4.4% year-on-year, to 334,000 tonnes and 30,290, while passenger trips dropped 5.1% to 4.6 million.

The Airport Authority said Hong Kong resident travel dropped 21% year-on-year, while visitor traffic grew by 2%. Transfer and transit traffic registered a slight decrease of 1%.

All major markets showed growth in cargo over January 2012, with Taiwan and North America outperforming other key regions. Imports, exports and transshipments all grew by double digits.

The authority’s Chief Executive Officer Stanley Hui said the substantial surge in cargo throughput and the single-digit drop in passenger trips were mainly attributable to the timing impact of Chinese New Year.

"Likewise, with most factories on the Mainland closed for the Chinese New Year holidays, air cargo is expected to decline in February over last year," he said.

On a rolling 12-month basis, the airport's passenger throughput rose 3.2% to 56.2 million. Both cargo volume and aircraft movements went up 5.2% to 4.1 million tonnes and 352,950.