On October 22, the Hong Kong Airport Authority reported that during the first three quarters of this year, Hong Kong International Airport processed 39 million passengers, and the number of aircraft movements rose to over 267,000, marking a year-on-year increase of 40.9% and 39%, respectively. Cathay Pacific Group also announced that in the first nine months of the year, its subsidiaries Cathay Pacific and Hong Kong Express carried more than 20 million passengers.
The Airport Authority noted that passenger traffic continued to recover steadily, with 4.06 million passengers recorded in September, a 22.4% increase from the same month last year. All categories of travelers, including Hong Kong residents, visitors, and transit passengers, saw significant growth compared to the previous year, particularly in travel between Hong Kong and Southeast Asia and mainland China. In September alone, more than 29,000 flights took off and landed at Hong Kong International Airport, a 22.3% rise from September last year. Cargo volume also increased, up 10.2% year-on-year to 414,000 tons, largely due to a 13% increase in transshipment and export cargo.
According to Cathay Pacific Group’s figures for September, Cathay Pacific carried approximately 1.814 million passengers, a 17.8% increase from the previous year, while transporting around 133,000 tons of cargo, up 10.9%. In total, over 21 million passengers were carried by Cathay Pacific and Hong Kong Express in the first three quarters. Cathay Pacific alone saw a 28.4% rise in passenger numbers compared to the same period last year, reaching around 16.554 million. In terms of cargo, the airline’s cargo volume for the first nine months increased by 9.9% year-on-year to approximately 110,400 tons.
Carrie Liu, Cathay Pacific’s Chief Customer and Commercial Officer, shared that September is typically a low season for leisure travel. However, demand spiked at the end of the month due to the National Day holiday, with strong travel interest from Hong Kong to various cities in Japan and Bangkok in Thailand, as well as from mainland China to Southeast Asia, Northeast Asia, and Europe. To meet the rising demand for outbound travel, Cathay Pacific plans to increase its flights and routes.
