Airport Authority Hong Kong yesterday announced the 2021 air traffic figures of Hong Kong International Airport (HKIA), which showed resilient cargo performance and continued impact on passenger traffic amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

Passenger traffic remained at a significantly low level compared to the pre-pandemic level due to COVID-19 and entry restrictions. In 2021 HKIA handled 1.4 million passengers and 144,815 flights, marking year-on-year declines of 84.7% and 9.9%, respectively.

Meanwhile cargo throughput in the year rose by 12.5% year on year to 5 million tonnes, exceeding the 4.8 million tonnes recorded in 2019, the year before the outbreak of COVID-19. The number of cargo flights surged to an all-time record of 82,935, a year-on-year increase of 19.8%. Monthly cargo throughput also reached a new monthly high in November 2021.

In December 2021, HKIA handled 154,000 passengers and 14,515 flights, representing increases of 70.0% and 14.7%, respectively, with outbound transfer passengers from Mainland China recording significant increases compared to the same month in 2020.

The strong momentum of peak cargo demand in November 2021 carried into December despite flight reductions due to the emergence of the Omicron variant. In December 2021, HKIA handled 477,000 tonnes of cargo, representing year-on-year growth of 8.6%. The growth in cargo throughput in December was mainly attributed to 18% year-on-year growth in transshipments. Imports and exports both experienced 7% growth. Overall cargo to and from Southeast Asia experienced the most significant increases during the month.