A record number of flight movements at the Hong Kong airport is expected on Jan. 27, when 870 aircraft are scheduled to arrive and depart, 12 percent more than the daily average of 775, the Civil Aviation Department said on Wednesday.

This is mainly due to the upcoming Chinese festival, the lunar new year, which falls on Jan. 29.

The Civil Aviation Department said so far 20 airlines have submitted slot requests to operate 333 additional scheduled and ad-hoc charter flights, representing 666 flight movements, from Jan. 24 to Feb. 9, with most applications falling between Jan. 27 and Jan. 31.

Airlines that have already submitted their requests plan to operate flights to 11 destinations in Northeast Asia, nine on the Chinese mainland, eight in Southeast Asia and one in Australia.

Taipei is the most popular destination, followed by Bangkok, Seoul, Sapporo and Tokyo.

(Xinhua News Agency January 19, 2006)