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“While the Midfield Concourse commenced operation at the end of 2015, expanding the airport into a Three-runway System is the only option for us to meet long-term traffic demand.“ |
Fred Lam Tin-Fuk CEO HKIA |
HONG KONG. Hong Kong International Airport (HKIA) posted an all-time record for passenger traffic in 2015, with the figure hitting 68.5 million. This was a sharp rise of +8.1% compared to 2014.
Airport Authority Hong Kong CEO Fred Lam said: “We are pleased to see HKIA achieving another recording breaking year. The strong performance of HKIA further strengthens its leading position as an international and regional aviation hub.
“During the past year, HKIA also set new records in daily passenger volume and aircraft movements, reaching around 228,000 passengers and over 1,200 flight movements. During the year, the airport also welcomed six airlines, namely Jetstar Japan, Jetstar Pacific, Scandinavian Airlines, Myanmar National Airlines, Etihad Airways and Sky Lease Cargo, which extended our flight network to 190 destinations around the world.”
Cross-boundary traffic between HKIA and the Chinese Mainland also posted solid growth. In 2015, around 2.86 million passengers made use of SkyPier to travel between HKIA and ports in the Pearl River Delta (PRD), representing growth of +3.74%. During the year, SkyPier ferry service expanded to Lianhuashan in Guangzhou, making it the ninth Mainland port served by HKIA. Meanwhile, 2.09 million passengers hired limousine and coach services travelling between HKIA and PRD destinations, representing +5.13% growth compared to 2014.
In December 2015, the number of passengers reached 6 million, climbing +6.1% compared to December 2014.
The growth in passenger traffic in December was mainly driven by a +11% year-on-year rise in Hong Kong resident traffic. On key routes, passenger traffic to and from Japan and the Chinese Mainland increased most significantly.
“Looking forward, we expect +4% to +6% growth in passenger volume in 2016,” added Lam. “Mild growth in cargo volume is expected due to global economic uncertainties. Most challenging of all, we expect air traffic movement to reach its annual maximum capacity of 420,000 soon. While the Midfield Concourse commenced operation at the end of 2015, expanding the airport into a Three-runway System (3RS) is the only option for us to meet long-term air traffic demand. We will continue the preliminary work of the 3RS project, aiming to commence construction works this year.”
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