Hong Kong International Airport (HKIA) recorded increases in all three traffic categories in November 2012, including a monthly record high for cargo traffic.

During the month, cargo throughput saw strong growth of 9.3 percent over the same period last year to 374,000 tonnes, beating the previous record set in October 2010.

Passenger traffic and flight movements also saw year-over-year growth of 5.5 percent and 6.6 percent respectively, with 4.6 million passengers and 29,710 flight movements handled.

HKIA says the growth in passenger traffic was driven mainly by Hong Kong resident travel, which saw a 12 percent rise over the same month last year. Passenger traffic to and from South East Asia and Mainland China performed particularly well. Growth in November cargo throughput was primarily due to 11 percent year-on-year growth in exports. During the month, cargo throughput to and from North America and Southeast Asia outperformed other key regions.

 “We are pleased to see very healthy growth in all traffic figures, especially the sustained rebound of cargo volume for four consecutive months despite a consistently challenging global economic environment,” said Airport Authority Hong Kong CEO Stanley Hui Hon-chung. “We remain cautiously optimistic about the potential for cargo throughput, and we foresee this positive trend continuing.” wt