Global economic uncertainties and disruptions to supply chains caused by the Covid-19 pandemic continued to weigh down the Hong Kong air cargo market in July.

The Airport Authority Hong Kong (AAHK) reported that cargo throughput dropped 17.0% year-on-year last month to 348,000 tonnes as air traffic movements also recorded a 3.1% decline to 11,485 movements even as more passenger flights were restarted.

"Cargo volume was affected by factors such as global economic uncertainties and disruptions to supply chains caused by the pandemic," AAHK said, adding that for July, both exports and imports to and from Hong Kong were down.

It noted that exports and imports decreased by 19.0% and 16.0% year on year, respectively, compared to the same month last year.

North America, Europe records the most decline

For the period, AAHK said cargo traffic to and from the key trading regions in North America and Europe registered the most significant decreases.

Over the first seven months of the year, Hong Kong International Airport — the world's busiest cargo hub — also saw a slight decrease in cargo volumes.

HKIA handled 2.5 million tonnes of cargo representing a 9.5% decrease over the same time period in 2021 as flight movements were also down 1.4% to 73,635 from January to July.

On a 12-month rolling basis, the airport handled 4.8 million tonnes of cargo and 143,780 flight movements, representing increases of 0.1% and 9.5%, respectively.

Despite the decline in cargo, Hong Kong Airport saw welcomed 401,000 passengers, which represented a growth of 259.3% over the same period last year, although AAHK noted that passenger volume remained "significantly below" pre-pandemic levels.

"The relaxation of inbound travel and transfer/transit measures drove the growth in all passenger traffic segments – including Hong Kong residents, visitors and transfer/transit passengers – compared to the same month last year," AAHK explained.

"Passenger traffic to and from Southeast Asia experienced the most significant increase," it added.