Hong Kong International Airport (HKIA) — the world’s busiest air cargo hub — continued to report double-digit air freight growth in August, driven by peak-season demand and increased trade to Europe, Southeast Asia and the Middle East.

Airport Authority Hong Kong (AAHK) released the air traffic statistics for August 2024, showing a 10.6% increase in cargo throughput to 406,000 tonnes last month.

However, this is slightly lower than the 414,000 tonnes recorded in July, which rose for the 10th consecutive month.

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

Flight movements also increased to 31,605, marking an increase of 26.1% compared to August 2023.

 [Source: AAHK]

“Cargo throughput continued its consecutive double-digit year-on-year growth in August 2024,” AAHK said in a statement.

“Export traffic remained the main growth driver, increasing by 14.6% compared to the same month last year. Among key trading regions, cargo traffic to and from key trading regions in Europe, Southeast Asia, and the Middle East increased most significantly in the month,” it added.

For the first eight months of the year, HKIA handled a 16.5% increase to about 3.2 million tonnes.

On a 12-month rolling basis, cargo throughput reported a growth of 15.9% to about 4.8 million tonnes, while flight movements increased by 56.0% to 345,615.

In August, AAHK said the airport also welcomed Indonesia AirAsia and Thai Lion Air, which will start operating new routes connecting Indonesia and Thailand respectively in October. 

In addition, two new passenger destinations, Koror in Palau and Riyadh in Saudi Arabia, will be added in August and October, respectively, to further expand HKIA’s extensive air network for passengers and cargo.