Airport Authority Hong Kong (AAHK) today released the traffic figures of Hong Kong International Airport (HKIA) for January 2022.

During the month, HKIA handled 71,000 passengers and 391,000 tonnes of cargo, representing year-on-year decreases of 0.1% and 4.7%, respectively.

Flight movements saw year-on-year growth of 5.5% to 12,010, with freighter movements increasing by 14.1% to 7,165 from the 6,278 recorded in the same month last year.

Cargo throughput declined due to flight reductions amid the worldwide emergence of the Omicron variant of Covid-19.

Transshipments were affected most significantly, declining by double digits year on year, although exports saw 4.2% growth compared to January 2021. Overall cargo to and from North America experienced the most significant decrease during the month.

The Airport reports that passenger volume remained significantly lower than the pre-pandemic level recorded in 2019.

On a 12-month rolling basis, passenger volume fell by 57.6% to 1.4 million, while cargo throughput and flight movements rose by 10.8% and 4.8% to 5.0 million and 145,450, respectively.