Hong Kong International Airport (HKIA) — the world's busiest air cargo hub — continued to report double-digit air freight growth in September, driven by increased transhipment and export volumes ahead of the traditional peak season.

Airport Authority Hong Kong (AAHK) released the air traffic statistics for September 2024, showing a 10.2% year-on-year increase in cargo throughput to 414,000 tonnes last month.

This is also higher than the cargo volume of 406,000 tonnes that the airport reported in August and tied to the 414,000 tonnes recorded in July.

In June, cargo volumes reached 417,000 tonnes and it was at 416,000 tonnes in May.

Flight movements were also up by 22.3% to 29,595 in September, compared to the same period in 2023.

"Cargo throughput continued to increase, seeing double-digit year-on-year growth. This was mainly attributed to 13.0% growth in both transshipments and exports," AAHK said in a statement.

"Among key trading regions, cargo traffic to and from Europe, Southeast Asia and the Middle East increased most significantly in September 2024," it added.

[Source: AAHK]

Over the first three quarters of the year, the airport handled 3.59 million tonnes of cargo, up 15.7% year on year.

On a 12-month rolling basis, cargo throughput grew by 15.9% to 4.82 million, while flight movements increased by 49.9% to 351,015.