Hong Kong International Airport (HKIA) rose 8.5 percent to 3.9 million in passenger throughput in October from a year earlier, the Hong Kong Airport Authority said Monday.

 

According to released statistics from the authority, aircraft movements in the airport grew 3.4 percent year-on-year to 24,500 flights over the month. Cargo throughput also increased 3.4 percent to 329,000 tons.

 

HKIA Management Director Howard Eng said origin, destination and transfer traffic experienced healthy growth in October, fueled by buoyant regional demand.

 

"The persistent growth over the last 10 months gives us a strong base for another record-breaking year," he added.

 

Passenger throughput for the past 12 months grew 8.7 percent to 43.8 million while cargo throughput rose 5.9 percent to 3.5 million tons, the authority said. Meanwhile, aircraft movements rose 8 percent to 279,000 flights.

 

(Xinhua News Agency November 21, 2006)