In this undated photo, a jet taxis at Hong Kong International Airport at Chek Lap Kok in the New Territories. (PHOTO PROVIDED TO CHINA DAILY)

HONG KONG - The passenger volume and flight movements at the Hong Kong International Airport rose 96.5 percent and 69.3 percent year-on-year respectively in February amid the Chinese New Year holidays, according to the Airport Authority Hong Kong.

The AAHK said in a statement on Thursday that passenger volume and flight movements at the HKIA increased to 4.2 million passengers and 27,615 respectively. Cargo volume also recorded a year-on-year increase of 11.7 percent to 324,000 tonnes.

During the Chinese New Year holiday period from Feb 7-18, the HKIA handled an average of more than 150,000 passengers and over 960 flight movements each day

The AAHK said the significant growth in passenger volume was due in part to the Chinese New Year holidays, which drove higher traffic among all passenger segments. Traffic to and from Southeast Asia, the Chinese mainland and Taiwan region recorded the largest increases.

During the Chinese New Year holiday period from Feb 7-18, the HKIA handled an average of more than 150,000 passengers and over 960 flight movements each day.

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Traffic during the holiday period peaked on Feb 18, when 160,600 passengers used the HKIA. The 1,029 aircraft movements on Feb 7 represented another peak during the holidays, the AAHK said.

It also said that exports contributed most to the growth in cargo volume, rising by 30 percent compared to the same month last year. Among key trading regions, traffic to and from North America, Europe and the Middle East saw the most significant increases.

Over the first two months of the year, the HKIA handled 8.4 million passengers, an increase of 98.2 percent compared to the same period in 2023.

Flight movements also registered a year-on-year increase of 73.3 percent to 56,370, while cargo throughput rose by 21.3 percent to 701,000 tonnes during the same period.

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On a 12-month rolling basis, passenger volume reached 44 million, or 349.2 percent higher than the previous comparable period. Flight movements and cargo throughput saw year-on-year increases of 98.7 percent and 8.2 percent to 299,925 and 4.5 million tonnes, respectively.