Hong Kong International Airport’s (HKIA) freight tonnage grew moderately in October year-on-year, with 346,000 tonnes handled last month for a 1.1 percent expansion.
The growth in throughput in October was primarily due to an 11 percent year-on-year increase in transshipments. During the month, cargo throughput to and from North America and China outperformed other key regions.
“Preliminary numbers on cargo throughput in November also suggest a welcome and strong rebound in the year-end peak months,” said Stanley Hui Hon-chung, chief executive officer of Airport Authority Hong Kong. “We are cautiously optimistic about cargo performance for 2012 given the arrival of the holiday season.”
Over the first 10 months of this year, HKIA’s cargo volume rose 0.9 percent to 3.3 million tonnes compared to the same period in 2011. But on a rolling 12-month basis, it registered a decline of 0.3 percent to 4 million tonnes.
Rival Singapore Changi Airport had gloomier numbers in October. Airfreight movements for the month declined 8 percent from a year ago to 150,000 tonnes. For January to October 2012, the airport handled 1.5 million tonnes of cargo, 2.4 percent less than it did for the same period in 2011.
Meanwhile, Changi Airport announced that Lufthansa Cargo started freighter services between Singapore and Almaty, a major commercial center in Kazakhstan. The airline will operate twice weekly on the Frankfurt-Almaty-Singapore route using the MD-11F aircraft.
Photo: zilupe
