The Hong Kong Airport Authority has announced lesser declines in cargo throughput for October, noting improved momentum compared to previous months.

The world's busiest cargo airport said cargo volumes at the Hong Kong International Airport (HKIA) for October 2019 dropped by 5.5% year on year to 428,000 tonnes, a smaller decline compared with the 5.9% year-on-year drop in September which was attributed to continuous global trade uncertainties.

Japan and Europe key trading partners in October

HKIA said cargo exports saw improved momentum in October, recording just a 2.6% decline year on year Japan and Europe among the key trading regions outperforming other regions.

Over the first 10 months of the year, HKIA said it saw 353,200 flight movements, representing year-on-year decreases of 0.6%. Cargo throughput fell 7.0% to 3.9 million tonnes compared to the same period last year, while the 60.8 million passengers it handles last month represents a 2.2% decline.

On a 12-month rolling basis, flight movements recorded a 0.2% decline to 425,755 while cargo throughout dropped to 4.8 million, a decline of 6.4% compared to the same period last year. HKIA said passenger volume also dropped 1.6% to 73.3 million.

"Passenger volume in October continued to be suppressed by weak visitor traffic, with passengers to and from the Mainland and Southeast Asia experiencing the most significant decreases," airport authority added.

It noted, however, that transfer/transit traffic, showed strong year-on-year growth of 7.0%, while Hong Kong resident travel increased 2.0%.