Hong Kong International Airport (HKIA) is the world’s busiest cargo airport for the fifth consecutive year, according to Airport Authority Hong Kong (AA).
In an official release, AA said that in its fiscal year 2014-2015 ended March 2015, HKIA registered a throughput of 4.4 million tonnes, up 5.5% over the previous year.
The airport also set a record-breaking passenger traffic figure of 64.7 million passengers, a 6.6% increase year-over-year to make it one of the 10 busiest passenger airports in the world.
As for flight movements, it posted a figure of 396,000, representing a year-over-year increase of 4.9%.
On financial performance, revenue and profit attributable to the equity shareholder saw surges of 10.5% and 12.4%, respectively, to HK$16.367 billion (US$2.111 billion) and HK$7.254 billion for the 12 months ended March 31, 2015. Earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization also increased 13.8% year-over-year to HK$11.314 billion.
Four new carriers began operating in Hong Kong during the year, including American Airlines, Siam Air, Vanilla Air, and Jetstar Japan. Meanwhile, seven scheduled destinations for passenger and freight services, namely, Calgary, Changzhou, Kagoshima, Udon Thani, Washington, Xishuangbanna, and Yiwu, were added to HKIA’s flight network.
As at the end of March 2015, HKIA had over 100 airlines serving about 180 destinations.
Fred Lam, chief executive officer of the AA, said continued development of the airport is being pursued to maintain its competitiveness. “The AA is in the midst of additional expansion projects to ease congestion caused by rising medium-term traffic demand and passenger throughput,” he said.
The expanded West Apron is now fully operational, providing 28 aircraft parking stands for the airport. The Midfield Development, which is scheduled for completion by the end of 2015, will add 10 million passengers to HKIA’s annual capacity. In total, the enlarged apron and Midfield Development will provide 48 additional parking stands.
During the year, the AA received an environmental permit for the proposed expansion of HKIA into a three-runway system (3RS). The AA is now pursuing other relevant statutory requirements and making financial arrangements with the aim of starting construction in 2016 and completing the project within eight years.
Lam said the 3RS is critical to Hong Kong’s future as it will “bring new business opportunities, create hundreds of thousands of jobs, and spur economic development.”
Singapore cargo numbers flat
On the other hand, Singapore Changi Airport saw its passenger numbers grow but its cargo traffic contract in May.
In the month, the airport handled 4.48 million passenger movements, a growth of 2.6% compared to the same period in 2014. Airfreight processed declined to 157,000 tonnes, a 0.3% decrease year-over-year. Flight movements increased by 0.4% to 29,000.
Traffic growth in May was fueled by travel demand across Asia, offset by a decline in Europe and Southwest Pacific travel. Among Changi Airport’s top 10 country markets, passenger movements to and from China (9.5%) and Thailand (18%) registered the strongest growth.
Photo: Ken’ichi
