HKIA, which eclipsed Memphis International Airport as the world’s busiest cargo airport in 2010, also saw slight improvement from a 10-month standpoint. The airport processed 3.3 million tonnes of freight from January to October, a 0.9-percent, year-over-year, increase. Aircraft movements surged 5.2 percent, year-over-year, during this period, according to a press release.
Stanley Hui Hon-chung, CEO of Airport Authority Hong Kong, said he expects even stronger traffic in the last two months of year. “Preliminary numbers on cargo throughput in November suggest a welcome and strong rebound in the year-end peak months,” he said in a statement. “We are cautiously optimistic about cargo performance for 2012, given the arrival of the holiday season.”
Despite such optimism, the Asia-Pacific as a whole has seen sluggish freight volumes lately. International Air Transportation Association statistics showed cargo demand stalling 1.6 percent, year-over-year, in the Asia-Pacific in September, amid a 3-percent, year-over-year, capacity decline.
Passenger carriers in this region recorded a 1.7 percent, year-over-year, uptick in traffic during this period; even so, this was one of the weakest increases from a global perspective.
HKIA, which eclipsed Memphis International Airport as the world’s busiest cargo airport in 2010, also saw slight improvement from a 10-month standpoint. The airport processed 3.3 million tonnes of freight from January to October, a 0.9-percent, year-over-year, increase. Aircraft movements surged 5.2 percent, year-over-year, during this period, according to a press release.
Stanley Hui Hon-chung, CEO of Airport Authority Hong Kong, said he expects even stronger traffic in the last two months of year. “Preliminary numbers on cargo throughput in November suggest a welcome and strong rebound in the year-end peak months,” he said in a statement. “We are cautiously optimistic about cargo performance for 2012, given the arrival of the holiday season.”
Despite such optimism, the Asia-Pacific as a whole has seen sluggish freight volumes lately. International Air Transportation Association statistics showed cargo demand stalling 1.6 percent, year-over-year, in the Asia-Pacific in September, amid a 3-percent, year-over-year, capacity decline.
Passenger carriers in this region recorded a 1.7 percent, year-over-year, uptick in traffic during this period; even so, this was one of the weakest increases from a global perspective.