November cargo volume at Hong Kong International Airport experienced a 6.6-percent, year-over-year, decline. Officials blamed the slumping cargo numbers on a 10-percent drop in exports compared to November 2010. Passengers and aircraft movements at HKIA were up, finishing the month, respectively, with 4.7 percent and 4.2 percent increases over the previous November.
Cargo flight movements declined 6.8 percent, year-over-year, last month. Year-to-date, cargo volume at the airport has declined 3.4 percent, with passenger volume rising, year-to-date, by 5.8 percent.
“Despite the recent drop in cargo throughput due to the slowdown in imports and exports, I am confident that our long-term prospects remain promising as the Mainland’s economy continues to boom and Hong Kong also remains on a steady growth path,” Stanley Hui Hon-chung, Airport Authority Hong Kong’s CEO, said in a statement.
“The growth momentum in passenger traffic underlines the need to develop and enhance our facilities,” he added. Underlining this passenger-driven success is HKIA’s midfield development — an HK$9 billion project that includes a 78,000-square-foot passenger terminal — which broke ground on December 9. Plans also call for additional cargo parking stands, which will allow HKIA to boost its cargo volumes to 6 million tonnes annually.
