Passenger Traffic at HKIA Hits Another Post-Pandemic High in August

Airport Authority Hong Kong (AAHK) today released the air traffic statistics for Hong Kong International Airport (HKIA) for August 2024. During the month, HKIA handled about 4.92 million passengers, representing a 23.0% year-on-year growth, while cargo throughput was up 10.6% to 406,000 tonnes in August. Flight movements increased to 31,605, marking an increase of 26.1% compared to August 2023.

In August 2024, daily passenger traffic exceeded 170,000 on peak days. On 18 August, HKIA handled 174,600 passengers, reaching another post-pandemic high. All passenger segments, including Hong Kong residents and visitors and transfer/ transit passengers, saw significant growth compared to the same month last year. Traffic to and from Southeast Asia, Mainland China, and Japan recorded the most significant monthly increases.

Cargo throughput continued its consecutive double-digit year-on-year growth in August 2024. Export traffic remained the main growth driver, increasing by 14.6% compared to the same month last year. Among key trading regions, cargo traffic to and from key trading regions in Europe, Southeast Asia, and the Middle East increased most significantly in the month.

For the first eight months of the year, passenger volume rose to 34.9 million while flight movements increased to 237,435, recording a growth of 43.5% and 41.4%, respectively, compared to the same period of 2023. Cargo traffic experienced an annual increase of 16.5% to about 3.2 million tonnes.

On a 12-month rolling basis, passenger volume rose significantly by 77.1% year-on-year to about 50.1 million, while flight movements increased by 56.0% to 345,615. Cargo throughput reported a growth of 15.9% to about 4.8 million tonnes.

Meanwhile, HKIA welcomes two new passenger airlines, Indonesia AirAsia and Thai Lion Air, which will start operating new routes connecting Indonesia and Thailand respectively in October. In addition, two new destinations for passengers, Koror in Palau and Riyadh in Saudi Arabia will be added in August and October respectively, to further expand HKIA’s extensive air network.