The Hong Kong International Airport handled 4.55 million passengers in October, up 21.3 percent from a year ago, as it prepares to open its three-runway system at the end of the month, buttressing the city's status as a global aviation hub.

The Airport Authority Hong Kong said in a statement that the airport recorded a 20.3 percent rise in flight movements to 31,625 as traffic growth remained steady in all passenger segments.

“Hong Kong residents, visitors, as well as transfer and transit passengers, experienced double-digit year-on-year increases in October,” the statement reads.

It added that traffic to and from Southeast Asia, the Chinese mainland, and Japan recorded the most significant growth during the period.

ALSO READ: HK to strengthen aviation-hub role with enhanced services

Cargo volume recorded a year-on-year increase of 12.7 percent to 442,000 tonnes, with export traffic remaining the main driver of the growth at 15.6 percent compared to the same month last year.

Among the key trading regions, cargo traffic to and from Europe, Southeast Asia and Middle East increased most significantly last month, the AAHK said.

It said that, for the first ten months of the year, passenger volume recorded an increase of 38.6 percent to around 44 million, while flight movements experienced a 36.7 percent growth to 298,655, compared with the same period in 2023.

Cargo volume rose by 15.4 percent year-on-year to 4.03 million tonnes, the AAHK added.

READ MORE: City terminals cement HK’s status as an aviation hub

On a 12-month rolling basis, passenger volume grew significantly by 51.5 percent year-on-year to 51.6 million, while flight movements saw 43.8 percent growth to 356,355. Cargo throughput rose by 15.9 percent to 4.9 million tonnes.

Cathay Pacific, Hong Kong Airlines, and Greater Bay Airlines also launched new routes in October, connecting Hong Kong to Riyadh in Saudi Arabia; Chiang Mai in Thailand and Yonago in Japan, respectively.

With the three-runway system set to begin operations on Nov 28, the airport is projected to handle 120 million passengers and 10 million metric tons of cargo by 2035, authorities said.