This picture taken on Jan 5, 2023 shows people walking through the arrivals hall at Hong Kong International Airport. (PHOTO / AFP)

HONG KONG – Hong Kong International Airport handled 3.8 million passengers in October, representing a four-fold year-on-year increase, the Airport Authority Hong Kong (AAHK) said on Tuesday.

The AAHK said in a statement that flight movements approximately doubled to 26,265 last month compared to the same period last year, with passenger traffic to and from Southeast Asia, the Chinese mainland and Japan seeing the largest increases.

On a 12-month rolling basis, passenger volume reached 34 million, 9.4 times higher than the previous comparable period. Flight movements increased by 78.7 percent year-on-year to 247,805

ALSO READ: HKIA sees steady growth in passengers, cargo throughput

Over the first 10 months of the year, passenger volume increased 9.5 times to 31.4 million while flight movements nearly doubled to 218,370 compared with the same period in 2022. 

On a 12-month rolling basis, passenger volume reached 34 million, 9.4 times higher than the previous comparable period. Flight movements increased by 78.7 percent year-on-year to 247,805.

October also saw the strong growth momentum in cargo throughput continue, rising 12.1 percent year-on-year to 393,000 tonnes, the AAHK said.

Exports and transshipments recorded 24.7 percent and 2.1 percent year-on-year increases, respectively, and cargo traffic to and from key trading regions in Europe, North America and the Middle East posted the most significant increases.

READ MORE: Adverse weather: Enhance crowd management mulled for HKIA

Speaking at the ongoing Asian Logistics, Maritime and Aviation Conference, Financial Secretary Paul Chan Mo-po said that passenger traffic at the HKIA is expected to return to 80 percent of the pre-pandemic level this year and fully recover in 2024.

With Xinhua inputs