Hong Kong International Airport saw cargo volumes further decline in January, which it attributed mainly to the extended Lunar Holidays in China due to the coronavirus outbreak.

In a statement, HKIA said cargo throughput dropped 10.4% last month, compared to the same month last year, to 359,000 tonnes. 

"Cargo throughput declined due to closure of factories and businesses in Mainland China during the Chinese New Year holidays," HKIA said.

The decrease in cargo was mainly attributed to the 15% and 10% drops in imports and transshipments, respectively. Exports decreased by 9% compared to the same month last year, it added.

HKIA also said that among key trading regions, traffic to/from Southeast Asia and North America decreased most significantly in the month.

“HKIA’s traffic has been affected by multiple factors, including the outbreak of Novel Coronavirus in late January and social circumstances. We expect to see a continued decline in traffic numbers in February as airlines have suspended flights and governments in different markets have implemented immigration restrictions and quarantine measures,” said Vivian Cheung, executive director, Airport Operations of Airport Authority Hong Kong (AA).

She added that the Airport Authority have also stepped up cleaning and disinfection work in the terminal and passenger facilities, and continues to work closely with the Port Health Division of the Department of Health and our business partners regarding disease prevention work at the airport.

On a 12-month rolling basis, HKIA said cargo throughput recorded 4.8 million tonnes, decreasing 6.6% year on year. Meanwhile, passenger volume and flight movements fell by 5.7% and 2.8% to 70.8 million and 416,445, respectively.

Traffic figures at HKIA also saw decreases in January 2020. During the month, HKIA said it handled 5.7 million passengers and 33,210 flight movements, representing year-on-year decreases of 11.7% and 9.1%, respectively. 

Overall passenger traffic to/from Mainland China, South Korea and Southeast Asia recorded the most significant decreases in January.

Visitor traffic remained weak, showing a year-on-year decrease of 43%.