Hong Kong International Airport handled a total of 5.12 million tonnes of cargo in 2018, setting another new record.

According to traffic statistics released by the airport, the cargo performance for the year represented a year-on-year growth of 1.5%. This was despite a 5.2% decrease in throughput for December, caused by both imports and exports falling by 7%. Traffic to and from Europe and Southeast Asia decreased the most during the month.

In 2018, Hong Kong recorded 427,725 flight movements overall, of which 57,670 were cargo flights.

“It’s gratifying to see HKIA scale new heights in 2018 on all three air traffic categories, attesting to the dedication, resilience and contribution of our 73,000 airport community members,” said Fred Lam, chief executive officer of Airport Authority Hong Kong. “We are also honoured to be awarded with a number of recognitions during the year, solidifying HKIA’s leading position as a regional and international aviation hub.”

HKIA achieved an annual throughput exceeding 5 million tonnes for the first time in 2017 and is the busiest cargo airport in the world.