HONG KONG: Both passenger and cargo volume of Hong Kong International Airport (HKIA) dropped sharply in January and February, data showed Sunday.
The HKIA handled 7.6 million passengers and 51,215 flight movements for the first two months this year, down 38.5 percent and 25.7 percent respectively from a year ago, the Airport Authority (AA) Hong Kong said in a statement. Cargo throughput fell 9.8 percent to 611,000 tonnes compared to the same period last year.
In February, HKIA handled 1.9 million passengers and 18,005 flight movements, representing year-on-year decreases of 68 percent and 44.5 percent, respectively. Cargo throughput dropped 8.9 percent compared to February in 2019, to 251,000 tonnes. The declines in passenger traffic were mainly attributable to falling visitor traffic of a 63 percent year-on-year drop in January and February this year as those to and from the Chinese mainland and Southeast Asia recorded the most significant decreases during the period.
The statement said that passenger traffic was particularly impacted in February due to weak travelling demand amid the outbreak of COVID-19, in addition to immigration restrictions and quarantine measures implemented by authorities in different countries and regions. – Agencies
