HONG KONG REFLECTS ON ANOTHER SUCCESSFUL YEAR AND OUTLINES PLANS FOR 2018

A record 72.9 million passengers and five million tonnes of cargo and airmail passed through Hong Kong International Airport in 2017.

The annual totals, which represent rises of 3.3% and 9.4% respectively on 2016, were boosted by a 2.2% increase in aircaft movements.

Airmail accounted for 112,000 tonnes of the freight handled at Hong Kong International Airport (HKIA) in 2016 to ensure that cargo volumes exceeded five million tonnes for the first time.

Airport Authority Hong Kong’s CEO, Fred Lam, said: “HKIA is the first airport in the world to have ever handled over five million tonnes of cargo and airmail in a year.



“This achievement is particularly remarkable as we are concurrently handling over 72 million passengers annually.

“Such an accomplishment could not have been done without the support and dedicated service of our 73,000 airport community members.

“We are also honoured to be awarded with a number of recognitions during the year, such as the ”Best Global Airport’ in The Asian Freight, Logistics & Supply Chain Awards by Asia Cargo News, reconfirming HKIA’s leading position as a regional and international aviation hub.” 

The addition of 13 new airlines and 17 news destinations means that HKIA is now served by over 100 airlines operating flights to 220 destinations across the globe.

The new airline are Seoul, Hong Kong Air Cargo Carrier, JC (Cambodia) International Airlines, Lanmei Airlines (Cambodia), Virgin Australia, Air Japan, Air Cargo Global, CargoLogicAir, Cambodia Angkor Air, Small Planet Airlines, National Air Cargo, Sky Gates Airlines and Western Global Airlines.

While the new destinations served direct from HKIA include Baotou, Zhangjiajie, Huangshan, Yuncheng, Taitung, Komatsu, Sendai, Toowoomba, Christchurch, Yekaterinburg, Frankfurt (Hahn), Prague, London Stansted, Verona, Warsaw, Indianapolis and Sihanoukville.



“HKIA is stepping into its 20th anniversary this year, and we are pushing ahead with a number of development projects to further enhance our passenger and cargo services,” adds Lam.

“On the cargo front, in addition to the IATA CEIV Pharma Partner Airport accreditation achieved in 2017, the airport is also launching a tender to develop a premium logistics warehouse in Kwo Lo Wan to enhance the handling of e-commerce shipments.

“Meanwhile, keeping pace with ever-changing traveller dynamics and technological innovations, we will also continue to incorporate new technologies and passenger-focused features into our daily operations to provide a world-class, smart airport experience to travellers from around the world.”