HK air traffic movements up 5.1 pct in April

Passenger trips and air-traffic movements at Hong Kong International Airport rose 1.1 percent and 5.1 percent year-on-year in April, to 4.9 million and 30,530, while cargo volume increased 4.5 percent to 342,000 tons, data released by Hong Kong Airport Authority Sunday.

The Airport Authority said that for the first four months of the year, the airport handled 19.2 million passengers, 1.28 million tons of cargo, and 119,025 flight movements, representing year-on-year growths of 4.1 percent, 2.2 percent and 4.2 percent.

Visitation was the main driver behind the growth in passenger traffic, with a 7 percent increase on the same month in 2012. Routes to and from Chinese Mainland and Southeast Asia performed particularly well.

Higher cargo throughput in April was primarily the result of 5 percent year-on-year growth in exports. During the month, cargo throughput to and from Southeast Asia and Taiwan outperformed other key regions.

The authority's Chief Executive Officer Stanley Hui said to meet the increasing demand for the medium term, six new parking stands will become operational by next month, and another 15 will be available by the end of the year.