Freight volumes have flown the past the five million tonne mark at Hong Kong International Airport (HKIA) for the first time in its history.
The airport handled 4.94 million tonnes of cargo in 2017, an increase of 9.2 per cent, additionally it processed 112,000 tonnes of airmail, pushing total volumes past the five million tonne mark.
In December, total cargo volumes increased 6.3 per cent to 462,000 tonnes, with 159,000 tonnes unloaded, an increase of 2.3 per cent, and 303,000 tonnes being loaded, up 8.3 per cent year-on-year, with traffic to and from Europe and India seeing the most significant rises during the month.
Airport Authority Hong Kong chief executive officer, Fred Lam says the airport is the first in the world to pass this barrier and it is pushing ahead with a number of development projects as it looks forward to celebrating its 20th anniversary year.
He says: “On the cargo front, in addition to the IATA CEIV Pharma Partner Airport accreditation achieved in 2017, the AA is also launching a tender to develop a premium logistics warehouse in Kwo Lo Wan to enhance the handling of e-commerce shipments.”
Over 100 airlines operate at HKIA, with 13 newcomers in 2017 consisting of Air Seoul, Hong Kong Air Cargo Carrier, JC (Cambodia) International Airlines, Lanmei Airlines (Cambodia), Virgin Australia, Air Japan, Air Cargo Global, CargoLogicAir, Cambodia Angkor Air, Small Planet Airlines, National Air Cargo, Sky Gate Airlines and Western Global Airlines.
The network has expanded to 17 new destinations including, Baotou, Zhangjiajie, Huangshan, Yuncheng, Taitung, Komatsu, Sendai, Toowoomba, Christchurch, Yekaterinburg, Frankfurt Hahn, Prague, London Stansted, Verona, Warsaw, Indianapolis and Sihanoukville, bringing the total to over 220.
