Hong Kong International Airport recorded growth in all three traffic categories in May 2012.

During the month, cargo volume grew by 1.1% to 333,000 tonnes, registering the first positive year-on-year growth since March last year. Passenger volume surged to 4.5 million and air traffic movements reached 29,230, up 4.1% and 5% respectively from a year ago.

The growth in passenger traffic in May was driven mainly by visitor traffic which saw a 5% rise over the same month last year. Passenger traffic to/ from Japan and South East Asia performed particularly well.

The growth in cargo throughput last month was primarily due to a 3% year-on-year growth in exports. During the month, cargo throughput to/ from South East Asia outperformed other key regions.

Stanley Hui Hon-chung, Chief Executive Officer of Airport Authority Hong Kong, was delighted by the growth in cargo throughput despite current market volatility. “Both passenger traffic and aircraft movements continue to perform steadily, while cargo volume recorded its first positive yearly growth in 14 months. Going forward, we remain cautiously optimistic and will continue to monitor closely the impact of economic uncertainties on the aviation industry.

"Since the start of this year, we have added eight new destinations to Hong Kong's air network. Far East Air Transport from Taiwan also started operating passenger services between Hong Kong and Makung at HKIA last month. With around 100 airlines operating flights to about 160 destinations worldwide, HKIA will continue to strengthen its position as an international and regional aviation hub offering a world-class airport experience," Mr Hui added.

For the first five months of the year, the airport handled 23 million passengers and 143,445 aircraft movements, up 7.2% and 5.9% respectively over the same period last year. Cargo registered a small decrease of 0.9% when compared with the corresponding period a year ago to reach a total of 1.6 million tonnes.

On a rolling 12-month basis, flight movements registered a year-on-year increase of 6.2%, amounting to 341,830 movements. Passenger traffic rose 6.4% to 55.4 million and cargo tonnage decreased 4.5% to 3.9 million.